The Storm Of Chaos
by thunderyoshi
Summary: Sequel to Order of Chaos. Earth is threatened yet again when Asta, the warrior who attacked Asgard before, attacks, promising that she will soon rule them. Not about to let the woman who is still threatening their child live, Loki and Ko return to Earth with Thor, but will the Avengers be able to work with those they fought so hard to defeat, those who they know only bring chaos?
1. Back to Midgard

**Welcome to the 4****th**** instalment of my Chaos fics! I only own the OC characters!**

**Hope you guys enjoy this one!**

Chapter 1: Back in Midgard

Amy breathed out in a loud huff as she sat at the conference table, glowering at Fury as he at the top, conferring quietly with Tony. He'd managed to convince the genius to come along, after a mysterious warrior from another world appeared, declaring that she would soon rule Earth.

"Do we _really _have to be here?" Amy grumbled, turning her grey eyes to Steve, who was leaning back in his own seat, looking a little bored himself. After their date had been interrupted, the two had changed into more suitable attire, and Amy's long blonde hair was tied back out of her face, which had streaks of soot across it, much like Steve.

"Yes, you do," Fury spoke sharply, glancing over at them.

"I hear you blew up another building," Amy looked up as Clint Barton and Natasha Romanov, better known as Hawkeye and Black Widow, walked in. "Old habits really do die hard with you, don't they?" Clint taunted Amy as he took a seat at the table, taking the file from Agent Hill as she passed the two assassins.

"Like you can talk," Amy grumbled.

"I will agree there. Every time you two work together you end up blowing things up, especially after your stupid bets," Natasha pointed out, folding her arms and sending a dirty look at the two. Amy couldn't help but laugh, and winked at Clint, who went slightly red. The last time they had made a bet, he'd been forced to address his feelings for his fellow assassin and ask her out.

"You can't really complain though Natasha," Amy shrugged, leaning back in her seat. "It got you a date, didn't it?" she smirked, and a faint blush appeared on Natasha's face too.

"So what exactly happened earlier?" Clint cleared his throat, leaning forwards as he scanned the report. "A strange warrior appeared, threatened to take over the world, and disappeared again?" he summed up, and Steve nodded as he too leaned forwards, resting his elbows on the table.

"She said her name was Asta. And she's got the strength of an Asgardian," he said slowly, still feeling the kick she had delivered to his chest only earlier that day.

"And she's acquainted with the Asgardians as well," Amy added in.

"Of course she is," Natasha muttered. "Particularly with Loki and Kobalos?" she questioned, her tone showing that she already knew the answer.

"Not in the way you'd imagine," Steve shook his head. "She seems to be on bad terms with both them, and Thor as well," he explained, confused by this a little.

"I wonder what's been going on in Asgard, for her to suddenly decide to come here," Amy scratched her head, making strands of her blonde hair fall down into her face.

"Sir!" one man who had been monitoring computers called to Fury, who walked over and scanned the screen.

"We may get our answer. It seems Asta has reappeared," he told them.

"Do we all have to go?" Tony questioned. "For starters, Banner hasn't even arrived yet," he pointed out their missing ally. Fury frowned, and surveyed the group of heroes.

"Captain. You and Cosmic go. Barton will fly you there," the three nodded and got to their feet, walking off to get ready.

"Don't blow too much up now Sparkles!" Tony called, and ducked to avoid an energy ball thrown at his face. He laughed, ignoring the frown shot at him by Natasha.

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Asta looked around as people ran screaming from her. She was highly amused by their fear. While the Asgardians went on the attack when she appeared and started cutting things up, these mortals simply fled. She swung her sword, flicking her black hair over her shoulder. Her arm was still stiff; never having healed properly after Thor had broken it with his hammer. And she would repay him tenfold for what he did.

"Where are they…" she murmured, looking around. She knew it wouldn't be long until the 'Avengers' came to stop her. Especially if she was going around causing a problem. Asta smirked, and sliced through a car, causing it to explode and have more people running screaming. Suddenly, a purple energy orb slammed into her shoulder, forcing her back. "Now that's just not nice," Asta told Cosmic as she landed in front of her, her purple aura blazing as she frowned at the warrior.

"Neither is going around chopping things up with your sword," Cosmic told her.

"That was just a bit of fun really. Just while I waited for you," Asta shrugged, and caught an arrow that was flying towards her. "Now that's just rude," she looked up at Hawkeye, who already had another arrow nocked and aimed at her.

"Why are you here?" Captain America asked as he landed beside Cosmic, suited up, his shield in hand.

"Here as in this street? Or here as in Midgard?" Asta tilted her head, playing innocent to mock him. "I'm here for something, which will be here soon. And this planet is just a little extra. Mainly the tool to draw out what I'm after," she smirked, and raised her sword again. "So, are we going to play? Or do I get to go back to chopping things up?" Asta questioned.

"You're delightful, aren't you?" Cosmic narrowed her eyes as she called on her powers, and Asta let out a laugh. She rushed at Cosmic, who barely managed to dodge the sword in time. Captain America kicked her and blocked her sword with his shield, before Cosmic threw two orbs at her. An arrow hit one, and exploded, knocking them all back. Cosmic looked up at Hawkeye, laughing and shaking her head.

"You two always have to blow something up," Captain America commented, and Cosmic winked at him before throwing more orbs at Asta as she recovered. She flew at the warrior, and dealt another couple of quick fired energy balls at her. As she did, she spotted faint marking on Asta's neck, and frowned.

"What is that supposed to be? Battle wounds?" Cosmic asked, and Asta frowned, putting a hand to her neck.

"Remains of a Joten burn," she said shortly. "A reminder to kill Kobalos," Cosmic raised an eyebrow. Ko had done that? How? To the best of her knowledge, the Asgardian had never used magic like that. She was forced to push these thoughts aside as Asta leapt at her. Captain America leapt in the way, throwing his shield at her. Asta bent backwards, narrowly avoiding it, and Cosmic stepped between the two as she blasted the warrior again.

"You're stubborn, I'll give you that," Cosmic told her as Asta straightened up. Her armour was covered in scorch marks, and parts of her hair had been singed. She smirked, and ran at Cosmic again, who breathed out and created a long staff-like shape out of purple energy, blocking Asta's sword and shoving her back. She then slammed it into Asta's shoulder, and the warrior struggled to resist yelling.

"That's new," Captain America commented, having recovered his shield. Asta threw off the pain and went to move, only for Cosmic to push the staff into a large ball shape and throw it at her. Asta barely dodged it, but Cosmic's hands closed into fists, and a sudden burning sensation slammed into Asta's lower back as the ball returned to her.

"I've been practising new things since last year," Cosmic smiled at her boyfriend, before Asta let out an angry roar, catching another arrow. She threw it at the two in front of her as it clicked, and exploded, throwing them back. "Ok, didn't expect that," Cosmic groaned, and opened her eyes, just in time to react, rolling to the side as Asta attempted to stab her with her sword. The warrior was slightly faster, and swung up as Cosmic got to her feet, catching her across the stomach.

"Amy no!" Steve yelled, and caught Asta with his shield, throwing her back as he caught Amy before she could fall.

"This hurts more than I thought it would," she managed to say, a hand across her stomach as it gushed blood. "Watch it!" Cosmic blasted Asta back before she could catch Captain America, and Hawkeye kept her busy with exploding arrows. "Take her out, I'll be ok," she told him, but she was pale and getting paler. Captain America looked torn, but in the end didn't have to make a choice.

"I'll kill you!" Asta yelled as she managed to get close, before a figure with long brown hair wearing armour leapt between them, spinning a staff.

"No way. That isn't who I think it is," Cosmic's eyes were wide as both she and Captain America stared at the figure who had taken on Asta. Even the warrior's eyes were wide with surprise. A pair of gentle hands made them look around to find Rania, who sprinkled dust across Cosmic's stomach. The pain faded as the wound disappeared. Cosmic checked her stomach, finding only blood and a rip across her suit, amazed at what the Asgardian had just done.

"I will deal with you later. And don't worry, I _will_ kill you," Asta spat as she leapt back to avoid another attack. Black smoke engulfed her, and she disappeared; the wind blowing away the smoke. The figure barked out a laugh, before resting a hand on her side and turning her head to smirk at the two Avengers who continued to stare at her.

"Hey Amy. You miss me?" Ko asked with a wide smirk, spinning her staff in her hand. Amy just gawked. Oh, she had got to be joking.

**I was planning on posting this last night, but I ended up staying at Jen's (still there haha!) and we got distracted by putting on the wigs for our fem Loki and Thor cosplays that we plan on doing for Eirtakon!**

**Hope you guys like this!**


	2. Faces They Never Wanted To See Again

Chapter 2: Faces They Never Wanted To See Again

Cosmic struggled to think as she stared at the smirking woman who had helped trash New York a little over a year ago. It took her a few moments to remember to breathe. When she finally inhaled, her brain kicked in and she straightened up, barely aware that Captain America was still holding onto her.

"_Miss you_?!" Cosmic yelled loudly, still barely thinking clearly as she breathed heavily. "What the _hell_ are you doing back here?!" she demanded furiously, her heard pounding as she yanked out of Captain America's grip and stormed over to the woman who was slightly smaller than her. Ko just regarded her with amusement.

"Stopping that maniac," she shrugged as Cosmic watched her closely. "I did just save your life, you know," Ko pointed out, leaning on her staff and not looking overly threatened as Cosmic's aura returned.

"Ko…" Rania spoke up warningly. "I told you to leave it to Thor," Ko just shrugged again, still looking amused.

"I told you that Asta is mine," she pointed out, and Rania sighed, slapping a hand to her face.

"Rania, what is going on?" Steve turned to her, looking completely lost. "Why is she back here? Who is that warrior? What does she want?" the Healer held up her hands as he bombarded her with questions. She opened her mouth to explain, before a wail rang out. Ko's smile dropped and she turned around, and Amy's eyes widened even more as Thor and Loki walked into view.

"You were supposed to let Thor handle her," Loki told Ko as she walked over, taking a bundle from him.

"Hey, I missed almost all of the fighting on Asgard. Let me have this one," Ko told him, making Loki sigh heavily. Ko grinned, and looked down, gently rocking her daughter as her wailing stopped.

"No. No way. No," Cosmic's words made them all look around. "That is not what I think it is," first Asta. Then Loki and Ko were back, and Thor and Rania were treating them like nothing had happened. Cosmic's head was melting.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't call my daughter an it," Loki told her, a small frown on his face.

"You have got to be kidding me," Captain America was just as stunned.

"There is much to be explained, but first-" Thor stopped as he looked up, and the others followed suit, spotting Iron Man flying towards them, with a jet in tow.

"What the hell is going on here?" Iron Man demanded as he landed, looking from Captain America, who was still standing beside Rania, to Cosmic, to Thor, Loki and Ko. Instantly his weapons opened up, and he aimed them at both Loki and Ko.

"Stand down," Thor barked as Loki moved in front of Ko, his eyes narrowing darkly. Iron Man hesitated, but didn't fire. "We are here to stop Asta," Thor explained quickly.

"And you decided to bring two psychos who tried to take over Earth before to help," Iron Man replied dryly. "Poetic, and full of crap," he told them.

"It's the truth," Rania spoke up, frowning herself. "Look, a lot has transpired since we left Midgard," she explained quickly, and Iron Man turned his head slightly to watch her. "Asta attacked Asgard, wanting the Tesseract, and they helped us stop her. And Ko refused to give us a choice in letting her come here to stop her," she explained.

"Ok," Iron Man nodded, but his weapons still hadn't deactivated. "I have one other question. Who the _hell _let those two psychopaths procreate?" he demanded, gesturing to Loki and Ko.

"Don't even get us started on that matter," Rania shook her head, resting a hand on her hip. "Just believe us when we say that they aren't the problem this time. We need to stop Asta before she starts another war," she told them.

"Why is she attacking here?" Cosmic asked, finally managing to find her words. "If she wants the Tesseract, wouldn't she be better attacking Asgard?"

"She tried. She failed," Loki stated shortly, looking almost bored now that Iron Man didn't seem as likely to attack them.

"She's attacking here to draw you away from Asgard," Captain America pointed out. "You're just falling for her trick."

"Asta may be luring us out here to get the Tesseract, but she won't attempt to return to Asgard until she has killed us all," Ko explained, her eyes on Runa, who had reached up and grabbed her hair.

"What did you do to piss her off so much?" Cosmic asked curiously, still barely able to process what was going on.

"She started it," Ko muttered childishly. She looked up and her entire being turned even more wary as Hawkeye walked towards them. His eyes darted to her for a split second before moving to Loki, and he seemed ready to fire an arrow at the prince, before turning to the others as Black Widow walked over too.

"Fury wants us all to go back to headquarters to discuss this," she reported, a hand on her gun, ready to attack as well. "Including them," her eyes moved to the new arrivals. Cosmic sighed, finally allowing her aura to fade. Well, this was going to be very awkward.

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As expected, the meeting was incredibly awkward. Natasha and Clint watched Loki and Ko carefully, as if they were about to start trying to destroy the Earth again. Bruce made subtle hints to Hulking out, which Tony only helped with, much to Steve and Amy's exasperation.

"Did we really get beaten by such a group?" Ko murmured to Loki when they got a moment to themselves.

"Apparently so," Loki folded his arms, his green eyes watching as Fury conferred with Thor quietly.

"And we really have to put up with them?" a faint smile appeared on Loki's face as Ko whined quietly.

"Hey, you're the one who insisted on following Asta here," he pointed out, smiling in amusement as his wife watched Runa as she grabbed her hair again. "You did agree to behave and if necessary work with them," Loki reminded her, and Ko looked up, pouting childishly.

"Doesn't mean I have to like it," she grumbled, but her scowl faded as Loki brushed her cheek with his hand. He looked down as Runa grabbed at his hand, making them both chuckle. "Seems like I'm not allowed your attention," Ko grinned, passing her daughter to Loki.

"Of course not, how could I be so foolish?" Loki questioned as Runa smiled brightly up at him, grabbing his hand.

"Well she's going to have to learn to share," Ko pulled him down into a light kiss, before someone cleared their throat beside them. Ko pulled back, glancing at Thor as he looked slightly awkward.

"You're allowed to stay here, out of a cell, but-"

"We must have a babysitter at all times," Loki summed up what Thor was about to say. The blond prince nodded, giving a small shrug. "I cannot say I expected any different," he shrugged, not looking too bothered by this.

"I had to explain everything that transpired this last year as well. Including what Asta wants," Thor looked apologetic as Loki looked up sharply. His grip on Runa tightened instinctively, making her squirm and protest loudly. Ko put her hand on his arm softly, trying and failing to hide her fear.

Their daughter. Asta wanted Runa. Being both of Asgard and Jotenheim, she was one of a kind. And from what they'd seen so far, she was powerful too.

"Loki, you're scaring her," Ko's soft voice made Loki glanced down at Runa, who was still holding his hand. Her skin was starting to turn blue, and the same blue was starting to spread up his hands.

"What the hell?" Hawkeye demanded before Ko could lift Runa. Everyone turned around to follow his gaze as Runa started wailing and Loki turned his head instinctively as the blue faded and his eyes turned from red to green.

"The kid's a Smurf?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Really Tin Man?" Amy folded her arms, leaning back in her seat. "Of all the things that you could say, that's what you went with?" she asked, not looking very impressed.

"That's what I went with, yeah," Tony nodded. Ko managed to stop Runa's cries, and sighed heavily. She chose to ignore what Tony had declared loudly, not even understanding it. She moved to take a seat, rolling her eyes as everyone tensed, seeming to be expecting her to suddenly start attacking, with a baby in her arms. Ko watched as Runa dozed off, and bit her lip, attempting to hide her anger while she was being watched. She would not let anything happen to her, but she was still worried. She wouldn't have her daughter hunted.

"She won't do this alone," she spoke up after a moment, earning everyone's attention.

"What do you mean?" Fury asked slowly as Ko sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"Asta is a coward. She may be strong, and a good warrior, but the moment she's alone, she runs," she explained, thinking back to the various times she'd fought her. "Every time she attacked Asgard, she had a flank of Chitauri with her. And the moment she knew we would win, she fled," Ko explained.

"That explains why she didn't stick around for long when she attacked," Steve nodded, frowning. "You think she's going to try and recruit allies to help her cause?" he asked. Ko nodded silently.

"She won't have an army this time," Thor stated. "At least, not of Chitauri soldiers."

"Asta turned her back on her allies," Rania nodded as she stood with Thor. She rubbed her chest, where a scar lay from when Asta had stabbed her. Even half a year after it had occurred, it still bothered her. "She will not have any help, except those who she can recruit to her cause."

"We'll be monitoring for her, to see if she'll make an appearance," Fury stated, before one of the computers started to beep, and everyone looked around as one agent called out.

"Sir, we've got a hit. And you're not going to like where," Fury frowned and walked over. As he scanned the screen, he managed to hide his true expression as horror hit him.

"Now this makes things very bad," he stated, staring at the image of Asta as she walked towards a large warehouse. Things just got a lot worse.

**Back from Jen's, so should start writing properly without the distraction of Pretty Cure hehe…not that I'm complaining…that show is uber addictive.**

**I hope you guys liked it, let me know what ya think!**


	3. An Almost Perfect Replica

Chapter 3: An Almost Perfect Replica

"How's it looking out there Miki?" a male voice called from within a pod in the middle of the room. A young woman with long brown hair tied back out of her face scanned the details on a small screen in her hands.

"They look perfect, but I don't know Dec," she shook her head, looking up at the pod. "This hasn't been tried in a long time. I haven't got any actual details. Not to mention we haven't had a test subject," Miki pointed out, her brown eyes full of worry.

"Yeah we do. Me!" the voice called with a light laugh. Miki narrowed her eyes in an unamused glare. "Lighten up Mik, we've got this!" Declan called out to her. "Now let's get started," he instructed. Miki hesitated, before sighing and walking over to the machine beside the pod. "Come on, before they find us and shut us down!" Miki sighed again and started up the machine.

Light started to shine from the machine, and Miki looked down at the details showing up on the screen. Her eyes widened as Declan's vitals began to spike, and he let out a yell.

"Alright, I'm shutting this down," Miki turned to hit the button, but Declan's yell stopped her.

"Don't! Keep going! I'm fine!" he didn't exactly sound fine. His voice was strained, and his yells increased, before finally his vitals began to even out. Miki stared almost helplessly at the screen as the light faded, and she hit a button to open a pod.

"Dec? How do you feel?" Miki called as she walked over.

"Fuzzy," Declan mumbled as Miki released him from the pod. She looked up at the man who now towered over her, sweat trickling down his shirtless chest. "And a little hungry," Miki couldn't help but laugh as Declan grinned at her, his blue eyes sparkling.

"Ok, I'll get you some food, after the tests are done," she told him. They both tensed, however, as they heard footsteps clinking towards them.

"Very impressive, I must say," Asta smirked as she stopped a few metres away, her arms folded as she surveyed them.

"Who are you?" Miki glanced at Declan as she heard hostility in his voice that she had never heard before. He took a couple of steps out of the pod, his eyes narrowed.

"Let's just say, I'm an interested party," Asta didn't react, showing that she didn't find him much of a threat.

"Well whatever you're selling, we ain't buying," Declan snarled.

"Dec, calm down," Miki soothed, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. She was surprised when he shrugged her off, ignoring her.

"Seems that your serum wasn't as perfect as the original," Asta commented, her dark eyes gleaming. "Here's my offer. You help me get something, and I get S.H.I.E.L.D. off your case," she offered lightly.

"How do you know so much?" Miki asked, her eyes wide in surprise. Asta gave a small laugh, and Declan moved, glaring fiercely at her. Asta wasn't even fazed by it.

"That's not what I'm offering," she told Miki. "You seem ready for a fight, muscles," Asta's eyes slid to the still glaring man. "You up to try taking on the original?" she asked. Declan frowned, not understanding what she meant.

Moments later, the wall behind Asta exploded. She turned, drawing her sword as Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Ko and Cosmic walked in. "Right on time," Asta smirked.

"Who is that?" Iron Man questioned as he ignored her, looking around at Declan and Miki.

"That machine…oh no," Captain America's eyes widened in realisation. "He's tried to copy the Super Soldier serum!" Declan smirked at his words.

"Not tried," he stated shortly, cracking his knuckles. "Succeeded. Let's dance, pretty boy," he rushed forwards and Captain America barely managed to block his punch in time with his shield. Declan was blasted back by Iron Man, and Ko spun her staff.

"Ready for another round?" she challenged Asta, who smirked and leapt at her. As the two fought, Declan swung his fist and slammed it into Iron Man's chest, throwing him back. He then turned to Captain America, ducking under the shield and punching him so he flew back.

"Uh guys, slight problem," Iron Man coughed as he recovered, looking around as Captain America crashed into crates that had been stacked nearby. "I think he's stronger than the Cap," he reported. "You're up Point Break. Let's see how your swing does against this guy," he told Thor, who nodded and strode forwards as Cosmic looked around at Miki. She cursed as she spotted the scientist running away, and flew after her, catching her wrist.

"You're Michaela Dunwin, the scientist who worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. until three years ago, right?" she demanded as she forced Miki to turn around. The woman met her gaze evenly, not speaking. "Are you working with Asta?" Cosmic asked, but Miki continued to stay silent. "You're quite the conversationalist, aren't you?" Cosmic rolled her eyes, before looking around as Captain America called out to her.

"Amy look out!" he yelled as Declan went barrelling towards her.

"Leave her alone!" he roared, and Amy shot into the air, barely avoiding the tank. She fired a couple of energy balls, which exploded on contact, but he barely even seemed to notice them.

"Great, just what we need, a tank with a short fuse and a protective side," Cosmic muttered as she flew higher into the air, only for Declan to leap up and grab her. She let out a shriek as he gripped her arm tightly, but before he could break it, Asta slammed into him.

"Whoops…my mistake," Ko smirked as Declan was forced to free Cosmic. He swatted Asta aside and lunged at them again. Cosmic shot into the air and over his head, while Ko easily avoided his swipe at her. Iron Man then blasted him with a Photon laser, and threw him back.

"Will you join me?" Asta questioned from beside Declan as he recovered.

"Yes," he nodded, shooting another glare at the group as they watched them carefully.

"Good answer," Asta smirked, reaching out and grabbing Miki's arm.

"No!" Ko rushed at them as she realised what was happening, but it was too late. Asta grabbed Declan's wrist and disappeared, taking the two with her. "Dammit," Ko ran a hand through her hair.

"What the heck was up with that guy?" Cosmic asked as she landed, looking around the warehouse curiously. Captain America walked over to the machine, which had been damaged in Declan's attack.

"They tried replicating the Super Soldier Serum…" he shook his head. "But something went wrong. That guy was too angry. He seemed kinda…unstable," Captain America shook his head, not understanding it.

"Too much power," Iron Man nodded. "Primal instincts must be taking over, overwriting his thoughts…" when both Thor and Ko looked blank, Cosmic sighed.

"He just wants to go smashing up things," she explained shortly.

"Why not just say that?" Ko muttered, shaking her head. Cosmic shrugged, wondering the same herself. But then again, it was Tony Stark, and he did love to show off.

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Runa squirmed in Rania's arms, making the Healer struggle to hold onto her. She cursed Ko for going off to fight, while Loki was trying to hide his worry over letting her go. He was still incredibly over-protective, even after she'd given birth. He was currently reading over the report of Asta's first appearance, to stop him pacing around.

"What do you want?" Rania sighed, looking down as Runa continued to squirm.

"I don't think she likes you too much," Bruce chuckled as he looked up from the report that he had been reading. They were all bored, sitting around doing nothing, until they got the chance to fight.

"It seems so," Rania shook her head, before noticing that Runa was staring at Bruce, her eyes wide. "It seems you fascinate her, however," Bruce blinked and looked over. As soon as his eyes settled on her, Runa broke into a wide smile and reached out to him. Bruce raised an eyebrow, and glanced over at Loki, who was watching him. Loki raised an eyebrow, before looking back down at the papers in front of him. Bruce shook his head, still uneasy around the man who had tried to kill them all not that long ago. "She really is fascinated by you, Banner," Rania chuckled as Runa continued to reach out for him.

"Must be the, uh, giant green rage monster," Bruce smiled awkwardly, before finally, albeit reluctantly, relenting and holding out a hand. Runa grabbed two of his fingers, letting out a noise of happiness.

"It seems Tony really is rubbing off one you," Rania gave a light chuckle, and Bruce shrugged.

"We have a Cap wannabe," Tony announced as he walked into the room, making them all look up.

"Uh…what?" Bruce raised an eyebrow as the others walked in as well. He quickly pulled his hand away from Runa, who let out a wail of protest.

"I wouldn't recommend doing that," Loki spoke for the first time in several hours. "She seems rather attached to you. And I don't think Rania wants to go through another burn," Rania looked a little reluctant to be holding the half Joten child now.

"Attached to whom?" Ko asked as she walked in, and her eyes settled on Bruce as he reluctantly let Runa grab his fingers again. "Oh," there was mild surprise in her voice. "Ok," she seemed a little confused, and there was wariness in her eyes, before she decided that he wasn't going to Hulk out.

"What's this about a Captain America wannabe?" Bruce questioned.

"A scientist attempted to recreate the serum…and almost succeeded, except for the unstable part," Amy fell into a seat.

"Unstable?" Loki frowned as Ko walked over to him.

"He's not the friendliest guy around," Steve took a seat beside Amy. "More brawn than brains."

"Brains?" Tony asked, and Steve shot him a glare.

"_Enough_, you two," Amy spoke quickly. "We don't need this right now," she scolded, folding her arms. "We have the first of Asta's new allies," she explained to the others. Loki glanced up at Ko as she stood beside him, and she gave a small shrug, smiling weakly at him. He could see the slight worry in her expression as she listened to Amy explain to the others. Ko hadn't taken on Declan directly, but she had seen his power. He was strong, and he would be a challenge when he inevitably attacked.

**I keep getting distracted from this by various things! I ended up baking earlier on a whim…plus Neopets…and tumblr…let me know what you think of this anyways!**

**Guys, let me know if you want one final fic after this one. I have an idea, and if I work my ass off, I should be able to write it and finish it before I go back to University mid-September and have to actually really focus on my dissertation. It'd be based when Runa is older.**


	4. Refusal to Fight

Chapter 4: Refusal to Fight

Clint met Steve's gaze evenly, his arms folded as everyone watched him. The air was tense and everyone was silent, with only Steve and Clint standing.

"So you're refusing to fight?" Steve summed up what the archer had just told him. Clint gave a slight nod, his expression indifferent. "Why are you only saying this now?" he asked, looking from Clint to Natasha, who was looking just as indifferent.

"Because we only just decided," Natasha spoke up, her arms folded. "We won't work with them," she looked over at Loki and Ko, who looked a little bored. "Not after everything they did," the assassin shook her head, maintaining her indifferent look. However, she jumped, as did most of the others, when Amy slammed her hands down on the table.

"You're _really _being this selfish about this?" she demanded. "People are going to get hurt, _again_, and you're just going to sit about doing nothing?"

"People get hurt every day," Natasha shrugged. "That's not going to change if we chose to fight,"

"And you're ok with this?" Amy looked at Clint, who met her gaze calmly.

"I won't work with them. Not after what happened," he told her, before turning and walking away as if this ended the discussion. Amy's eyes narrowed, and her aura blazed suddenly. Steve grabbed her arms before she could do something stupid, and Natasha stood up, also turning and walking away.

"Chill Sparkles. There's nothing you can do," Tony warned as he moved into Amy's view.

"There is no point to fighting one another," Thor agreed. "They will not help us because you force them to," he pointed out.

"No, but it'd make me feel a lot better if I got to knock them about a bit," Amy muttered, but her aura faded and Steve relaxed his grip on her arms, but didn't let go completely. Rania sighed in exasperation, and Loki and Ko exchanged slightly amused looks.

"Seems we're just as bad a team as last time," Bruce smiled weakly.

"I guess we just wait to see if this psycho does something to get us moving," Tony looked pointedly at Ko as he spoke. He was talking about when she killed Coulson, the move that finally got the Avengers moving the last time. Ko didn't look too remorseful as she just watched him, amusement clear in her eyes.

"Excuse me, I need to go blow stuff up," Amy announced, pulling out of Steve's grip and storming off.

"Does this mean I can go train?" Ko managed to somehow sound a mixture of hopeful and bored as Steve slumped into a seat, his hand on his head as he massaged his temples.

"You really don't do anything but train, do you?" Rania questioned, and Ko scowled at her as Loki hid his amused look.

"Oh shut up," Ko got to her feet, shooting Loki a glare, knowing that he was laughing.

"I'll go too," Rania stood up, brushing her dress down.

"You're to be my babysitter this time?" Ko glanced at her, before walking on as Rania glanced around at Thor, giving a small shrug before following Ko out.

1-2-3-4-5

Amy flipped through the air as a spinning disk shot at her. She tossed a glowing purple orb at it, shattering it before another three flew at her. Forced to focus intently on what she was doing, Amy managed to push her anger aside. She dropped, and tossed several orbs up so they hit them.

"You've improved since we last fought," Amy glanced down as Ko revealed that she had been watching. Amy destroyed the last of the disks, and landed lightly.

"It _has _been over a year. I would have improved," she told her, making Ko chuckle slightly. "You…saved me earlier, when we were fighting that guy. Why?" Amy frowned, recalling what had happened earlier in the day.

"I did?" Ko looked at her blankly. "Oh…when I threw Asta into him…" she remembered. "I was just knocking Asta back. Anything that came of that was purely coincidental," Ko explained with a nod, and walked past.

"Good to see you're still a psycho," Amy called after her, and Ko just laughed. Rania walked over, watching as Ko studied the training room.

"She's lying," Amy looked up sharply at Rania's soft words. "Ko has a way about her when she lies. I learned to pick up on it, growing up with her," she frowned slightly. "I think Loki influenced her skill as well. She's gotten much better at it," Amy couldn't help but laugh.

"We were enemies. Why would she help me?" she questioned quietly, and Rania shrugged.

"Ko's not as predictable as I once thought. Though I suppose, we are allies of sorts at the moment," she commented. "And there is one thing that Ko takes completely seriously, and that's protecting her daughter," Rania explained.

"So are you going to talk, or do I have a training partner?" Ko popped up behind them, making the two jump.

"Bring it," Amy smirked, letting her aura appear again. "Though don't be too surprised when I kick your ass," Ko laughed, smirking back as Rania sighed, shaking her head and walking over to the wall, out of the way of the two.

"Things did not go that way last time, and they will not this time either," Ko warned as she spun her staff, stepping back as the two started to circle each other.

"Things have changed since last time," Amy warned, and Ko nodded.

"Indeed they have," with that, she lunged forwards, and Rania hoped that they would remember that this was just training, and not a real fight.

1-2-3-4-5

"You two are idiots," Steve scolded as he stood over Ko and Amy as Rania healed them. The two were scorched and bruised, and the training room was in bad shape. "Did you two honestly think that going all out was a good idea?" he questioned.

"Yes?" both of them offered, with Amy at least looking a little guilty. Steve sighed, putting a hand to his face. When Rania gave her the all clear, Ko stood up, ignoring the pain in her side where Amy had clipped her. Loki grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside.

"I warned you that whatever magic you have left is limited," he reminded her, and Ko brushed her hair from her eyes, smudging the soot and blackening her hands even more. "And yet you choose to use it like this?" Loki's expression made it obvious that he wasn't as amused as she was.

"Yes," Ko repeated, still grinning. After a moment she sighed, her expression turning serious. "It was just a bit of fun, Loki," she told him softly, resting a hand on his arm as he still gripped her own arm. "I think I needed it," she admitted softly. Loki couldn't deny that she wasn't as tense as she had been since Asta had reappeared. Her worry for their daughter didn't help anything.

"Just be a little more careful next time," Loki sighed, and Ko's smile returned.

"Fury is going to have a fit," Steve pointed out as Rania finished healing the cut on Amy's shoulder, and Amy's grin dropped instantly. She groaned, putting her face in her hands.

"Why do I do these things?" she questioned, and Steve shook his head, unable to hide the smile forming on his face.

"Why do you only regret them when you realise Fury's going to lecture you?" he questioned.

"Oh…and he is going to lecture you bad for this," Tony chuckled as he studied the damage done to the training room. Machines had been destroyed, some damaged, and there was a hole in the floor and a dent in the wall where Ko had hit it.

"Hey, at least you'll have another story that ends with you blowing stuff up," Bruce grinned, and Amy looked up, glaring at the two.

"You are _not _helping," she grumbled.

"You do have a lot of stories that involve you blowing things up," Thor commented as he passed Runa to Ko as she walked over.

"You're not helping either!" Amy exclaimed, getting to her feet as everyone seemed amused by this. "I gotta go, before he-"

"_Agent Troy_."

"Finds me," Amy gulped as they all looked around at Fury, who was walking in with Agent Hill. He didn't look happy. Not that he ever did.

"A word. Now," Fury told her sternly. "You too," he glanced at Ko, whose amused look returned as she passed her daughter to Loki, winking at him as he shook his head. Seemed that even when treated like criminals, they got the same lecture as the others. However, he stopped as Agent Hill's radio went off; informing them that Asta and Declan had been located.

"Oops, oh dear! Guess we'll have to postpone this little chat!" Amy exclaimed loudly, grabbing Ko and pulling her away before anyone could even speak.

"Rest assured, Cosmic, we will have this 'little chat' later," Fury spoke loud enough for her to hear, and everyone heard her groan from down the corridor.

"Let's go see the Cap wannabe and the psycho swordlady," Tony clapped his hands together and earned several looks before he walked on.

**Completely forgot to update the last couple of nights. Been struggling to write and then had some kind of breathing issues last night which took until 1am to calm down.**

**I hope you liked it!**


	5. Consequences

Chapter 5: Consequences

"Is this really necessary?" Miki questioned as Asta and Declan chased off any civilians in their path. The sun was almost completely set, and their only proper form of light were the street lights overhead, some of which were being smashed aside by Declan.

"Do you want to be chased by S.H.I.E.L.D. and their merry band of idiots for the rest of your lives?" Asta questioned as more people ran screaming. Miki remained silent, her eyes downcast as she couldn't argue with the warrior. They'd only just completed their experiment, and all hell broke loose. And she knew from experience that S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't give up.

"Cheer up Miki, this won't take long," Declan grinned at her, and Miki managed a small smile, but she was worried about him. His muscles had increased since he'd first injected himself with the serum, and the slightest thing sent him over the edge, his fury taking over any sense.

Of course, it didn't help when a purple orb slammed into his face, exploding and knocking him over.

"I thought we'd had words about going around smashing things up?" Cosmic called as she hovered in the air, and Asta rolled her eyes.

"I have to thank you for it," Ko smirked as she landed in front of them. Declan looked up, his eyes narrowed in a dark glare, but as he moved to attack, Asta flung out a hand.

"No, she's mine," she growled. "Why do you have to thank me for this?" Asta turned her gaze back to Ko as she drew her sword.

"You're just making me stronger," she shot forwards and her staff clashed with Asta's sword. Asta's eyes widened in surprise as she was pushed back. Ko was definitely stronger, even from only earlier in the day.

"Oh yay, chaotic Ko is back," Cosmic spoke sarcastically, and yelped as Declan leapt into the air to grab her. She shot higher into the air, and Thor collided with the man, slamming him to the ground.

"I'd think at the moment, that'd be useful, would it not?" Loki questioned as Thor was flung off Declan, who growled under his breath. Rania grabbed Miki before she could run off, stronger than the mortal, who couldn't break free.

"He really is a wannabe," Iron Man stated from where he hovered in the air.

"He's more like Hulk than Cap right now," Cosmic nodded, before pausing and looking at Bruce. "Ehh…no offence," she smiled weakly, and he grinned back.

"None taken," he told her as Iron Man and Captain America joined Thor and Loki in fighting Declan.

"Well hurry up and suit up! He's stronger than he was this afternoon!" Iron Man called back to him as Captain America hurtled past, thrown back by a punch. Bruce sighed, taking off his glasses and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I liked this shirt too," he commented, and Amy took his glasses as she shot past, joining the fight.

"Not much point in getting attached to your clothes anymore Banner," Captain America commented as he ran past as well, throwing his shield at Declan, slamming it into the taller man's face "The serum is changing him, isn't it?" he asked as Declan recovered quickly and threw the shield into Loki, who was knocked back from the impact.

"We already knew it wasn't a perfect recreation, but it seems to be making him more unstable as time progresses," Iron Man replied as he fired his proton cannon at Declan. "Making him stronger, but more…volatile," he finished as Declan threw off Thor, straight into Iron Man. As the two were thrown aside, a large green blur ran straight into Declan. "There he is!" Iron Man cheered as Declan was thrown through a wall.

"What the hell is that?" Asta demanded, having looked up as Hulk let out a loud roar.

"That's a problem for you," Ko said, and slammed her staff down. The ground began to shake, and Asta was knocked off balance.

"Hey! You're forgetting we're here too!" Captain America yelled as Ko caught Asta with her staff, knocking her to the side. She glanced around as he, plus the others who were not able to fly, regained their balance.

"Sorry," she grinned, shrugging before turning back to Asta. She lifted her staff to block the taller warrior's attack, and slipped under it to punch her across the face.

"_Enough!_" Declan roared as he burst out of the rubble. Hulk roared again and ambled towards him, before a large chunk of the building was hurled at him, hitting him in the face. As Hulk was knocked back, slightly stunned by the action, Declan sprinted towards them. He aimed a punch at Loki, who disappeared as soon as the fist connected with him. Declan wasted no time in confusion, swinging around and connecting his fist with Cosmic's face. She cried out, before slamming through a wall, which then collapsed on her.

"Amy!" Captain America yelled, only to be thrown aside by Declan as well. Iron Man knocked him back, but everyone was distracted by Hulk as he got back up, and instead of going after Declan, hurtled straight towards Loki.

"Oh hell," Iron Man groaned as Loki managed to use his magic again, creating another illusion. Hulk barrelled straight through it, and let out another angry roar.

"You act superior, yet your '_team_' is falling apart faster than you can cope," Asta laughed as she noticed what was going on. Ko had lost her smirk as everyone seemed to lose their focus, either trying to stop Hulk from beating the fudge out of Loki, or trying to stop Declan. Rania had managed to pull Cosmic from the rubble and was quickly working on healing her. Miki was standing still in horror as she stared at Declan, who was acting like a smaller, more compact version of Hulk.

"Dammit…" Ko hissed, and kicked Asta back again. The only thing this battle was doing was bringing more chaos. And while it helped Ko take on Asta with no problem, it wasn't helping anyone else. "Loki!" she called to her husband, who glanced around as he attempted to keep out of Hulk's sight and stop Declan at the same time. "Switch!" she told him. Loki frowned, but did so, taking on Asta as Ko ran off.

"This is insane," Captain America grunted as he got back after another hit. He blinked as he found Ko standing in front of him, her eyes narrowed in a scowl. "Wha-" before he could even ask, she had punched him across the face, hard.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? We already have one guy that'll attack his own team, we don't need another!" Iron Man yelled, having noticed. Ko ignored him, yanking Captain America to his feet.

"You're supposed to be the leader of this ridiculous team, are you not?!" she demanded as he put a hand to his cheek. "Start acting like it!" Ko yelled, shoving him back. He barely managed to stay on his feet, and his eyes moved to Cosmic before he could stop himself. "No, that's not being leader, that's being useless!" Ko punched him again. "Amy will be fine. Rania is one of the best Healers I have ever seen, and believe me when I say I've seen my fair share of Healers. _You _need to focus on leading this team. Otherwise it's just going to keep falling apart, and we'll lose! Do you want that?" she demanded.

"N...no," Captain America managed to say, a little shocked at her yelling and the two hits.

"Then start acting as leader! Dammit, we need you!" Ko couldn't believe she was saying this. She couldn't believe that she was admitting that she needed their help. She knew she couldn't protect Runa alone. Not even with Loki and Thor. They needed the Avengers.

Before the soldier could reply, an arrow flew between them, whistling past, and exploding as it hit Declan. However, what looked like foam seemed to burst from the arrow, coating Declan and instantly hardening, freezing him in place.

"Looks like I got here just in time," Hawkeye commented, already nocking another arrow.

"I'd say you're a little late," Iron Man snapped as Captain America seemed to snap out of his shock. He looked over at Hawkeye, and stormed over to him. Before they knew what was happening, he'd punched the assassin. Hawkeye stumbled and fell, his face in agony despite Captain America holding back. "Will you people _stop _attacking those who are on our side?!" Iron Man raised his hands in exasperation.

"That's for taking so damn long," Captain America told the archer, helping him to his feet. "But I know we're all to blame, if we had been focused, Amy wouldn't have gotten hurt," he sighed.

"Don't start that crap again. I will punch you again," Ko warned, turning and running at Asta, who was trying to hold her own against Loki.

"Declan," Miki whispered as she moved to Declan's side. He stopped struggling, looking down at her. But it didn't seem as if he were truly looking at her, and after a moment he continued to struggle against his prison. "Stop this, please," Miki pleaded sadly. "Let's go, before they take you away from me," Declan stopped again, looking down in surprise. They both looked up as Hulk roared, launching at Miki.

"Stay the hell away from her!" Declan roared, managing to break out of his prison. He slammed into Hulk, and was thrown aside. Hulk turned his attention back to Declan, who was struggling to get to his feet.

"You thinking of running now?" Ko taunted as both she and Loki slammed their weapons into Asta. She stumbled back, glaring angrily at them. Her pride was telling her not to run, especially after that comment, but she couldn't risk Declan being taken in. He was gaining enough strength to actually take on Hulk and not be taken down within seconds. Asta growled under her breath, and rushed at the two in front of her. As they prepared to take her on again, she suddenly switched directions, catching Miki, who let out a surprised gasp as she was hoisted up by the waist. Asta grabbed Declan as everyone launched at her, but she teleported away with the two.

"Dammit! You weren't kidding when you called her a coward," Captain America sighed as the black smoke drifted into the air. Ko sighed, shaking her head. They had been lucky this time. And Declan was only getting stronger by the minute. Who knew what was to come?

**Hope you like this! Let me know what you think!**


	6. The Girls' Fight

Chapter 6: The Girls' Fight

Night passed and by the next morning, people were back out, going about their business, almost as if there hadn't been a fight that had taken out several buildings. People made their way through the park, and heard a voice drifting through the air.

"_Our lives are made, in these small hours_," the soft voice sang, making several people stop. They flocked towards a girl, who didn't look older than 18, with long blonde hair and a bright smile. "_These little wonders, these twists and turns of fate_," she sang, opening her eyes to reveal bright blue. Several men crowded forward, dropping money into a hat and backing away, some with wives or girlfriends giving them strange looks. "_Time falls away, but these small hours, these small hours, still remain_," she winked at one man, who was dragged away by his glaring girlfriend.

"Now that's a very impressive talent," the girl stopped singing and looked around at Asta, who was sitting beside her, wearing a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"Then you'll know not to cross me," the girl warned, but Asta just gave a mocking laugh, flicking her black hair over her shoulder. This revealed several scars, as well as bruises and cuts that she had acquired only the previous day.

"Oh Serenade, I know your powers wouldn't work on me," the girl's blue eyes widened.

"H…how do you know who I am?" she demanded.

"That's unnecessary information," Asta dismissed her question with a wave of her hand. She stood up, flicking her hair again. "I'm here to offer you something," Serenade raised an eyebrow. "A little bit of fun. And plenty of men to hypnotise," the girl broke into a grin.

"Now that does sound fun," she got to her feet, brushing off her shorts. "Just one thing. It's not Serenade. It's Siren," Asta smirked back at her.

1-2-3-4-5

"So we have to beat up a psycho and a kid? Even I'm not sure about this," Iron Man commented as Black Widow flew them to where Asta had been spotted.

"Who even is this child?" Loki questioned, his arms folded.

"No idea," Black Widow spoke as they neared the site. "We can't keep track of everyone on this planet," she stated. Ko rolled her eyes, standing in the middle of the jet with her arms folded. After the fiasco of last night, they, plus Thor were the only ones able to fight. Clint and Natasha had finally relented after they saw the destruction Declan was capable of. Amy was being kept out of action for a few days, and Steve was keeping an eye on her, knowing full well that she wouldn't stick to bed rest willingly.

"She'll have powers of some description," Ko stated softly.

"Well, we're about to find out," Black Widow announced, landing the jet in the park, where Asta and Siren were waiting.

"These are the ones you were talking about?" Siren folded her arms, looking unimpressed. "Boring," she stated loudly.

"Hanging out with kids now? What happened, the meat-sack run off?" Iron Man called. Asta just smirked as Siren's bored expression changed to one of anger.

"I am _not _a kid," she growled, before composing herself and smirking. "_Staring the stars, feeling the winds, every time,_" Siren started the sing.

"What is she doing?" Black Widow frowned, her guns trained on both Asta and the strange girl.

"_Since you've been gone away from here, shedding the tears, crying out loud for once_," Siren kept singing.

"Alright, I've had enough of this nonsense," Ko growled, and started running at Siren. The girl opened her eyes, and smirked as Ko swung her staff. It clashed against more metal, and Ko's eyes widened. "Wh-what the hell?" she demanded as Loki stood in her way, his green eyes glassy and unfocused. "Oh…you are going to regret this," Ko warned as she realised what was happening.

"'_Cause you are such a precious part of me, and there's no-one who'll fill my broken heart_," Siren just continued to sing, and Ko was blasted aside by Iron Man.

"She's hypnotised them!" Black Widow realised as she sprinted past where Ko was pushing herself to her feet.

"I _gathered _that," Ko growled back. "We don't have any choice. We'll need Rania and Amy!" she leapt up, narrowly avoiding Loki's attack. They were greatly outnumbered. "I guess I'll have to go all out for this nonsense," Ko grumbled, knowing that it was dangerous holding back.

"Regardless, you're going to die here. I wonder, should I have the man you love kill you?" Asta chuckled, and Ko rolled her eyes.

"You think he can beat me?" she questioned. With one sharp movement, she had pushed his staff up and kicked Loki in the chest, throwing him into Thor as he went to swing his hammer at Black Widow. She then slammed her staff into Asta's sword, and moved straight in to punch her in the face.

"I question why you've been holding back this entire time," Cosmic commented as she flew down and threw several orbs at Siren.

"_Oh, but now I have realised, the reason why I live in this world_," Siren sang loudly, and Iron Man flew down, blocking the attack and firing his cannons at her. Cosmic narrowly avoided it, and Ko noticed the bruising that was still not healed from her face.

"Because it's not as fun," she stated, and rubbed her hands together. "Distract Loki, do _not _let him use his magic," Ko warned Cosmic as Rania joined Black Widow in fighting Thor.

"Not as fun," Rania mimicked as she ducked under Thor's hammer. "You'd think she'd have become _less _psychotic since she had a baby, but – what on Asgard are you _doing_?!" she noticed Ko running towards Iron Man. She smirked, and leapt over Iron Man's attack, landing on his shoulders as she started to turn blue.

"What is she doing?" Siren demanded, having noticed.

"Don't stop you fool!" Asta spat as she pushed herself up, holding her jaw. Both Thor and Loki blinked, stunned momentarily as they seemed to fight the hypnosis. Iron Man was jerking about, flying into the air and dropping in an attempt to throw her off, and as he reached up to blast her off, she caught his glove, and it started to freeze over. Ko grunted as it took more effort than she expected, but it completely froze over after a moment, and spluttered out.

"Ko be careful!" Rania shouted as Black Widow managed to knock Thor down in his stunned state. "You're not supposed to risk using too much magic!" she reminded her as Ko managed to catch Iron Man's other hand and freeze it over, before he finally threw her off.

"Tag!" Cosmic shot past Ko as she rolled back, and caught Iron Man in the face with two large energy balls. Ko recovered quickly and got back up, turning to Loki as he walked towards her, and as soon as she did, he sped up and Ko barely managed to block in time.

"Oh, you better remember this," she muttered. "I'm going to prove that I can beat you…but it won't be much fun," Ko shook her head and dodged his next attack. She got under his staff, and went to swing a punch, before pausing. "Nice try," she turned and kicked the real Loki in the stomach. The illusion faded away and Ko followed Loki as he backed away, still unresponsive. He caught her on the shoulder, making her grit her teeth. She brushed aside the pain and gripped his wrist, twisting it so he was forced to drop his staff. "Amy!" Ko shouted, and the mutant turned, having just avoided one of Iron Man's many weapons. She tossed an energy ball at Siren, and Asta intercepted, only for another to shoot straight past her ear and slam into Siren. The girl was thrown back, slamming into a wall, just as Black Widow and Rania grabbed Thor's arms and Ko tackled Loki to the ground.

"Wh…what is going on?" Thor blinked at the two women who were still struggling. Asta hissed a curse, and disappeared, leaving Siren behind.

"Any reason why you're doing this?" Loki looked up at Ko, who let out a heavy sigh. "Not that I'm complaining, but…" he smirked, and she rolled her eyes.

"Figures, the one time I beat you, and you can't even remember," she mumbled. Loki's smirk dropped, and he looked confused as she looked up. Thor was scratching his head, and Iron Man was helping Cosmic, who was looking a little worse for wear.

"She's a mutant. Controls men with her voice," Cosmic's voice was strained as she landed on the ground. "And you owe me _big _for saving your asses," she looked from Ko to Black Widow, who had a trickle of blood dripping down her face.

"Seems you were telling the truth when you said you could beat me," Loki's voice was laced with amusement as he looked back up at Ko, who raised an eyebrow. "Though only when I'm not myself," she narrowed her eyes.

"Then I invite you to get out of this," Ko challenged, and after a moment Loki's eyes narrowed as he realised that for the first time, he couldn't. "What's that? Do I sense a victory?" Ko smirked as she leaned down.

"Koba…let me go," Loki spoke in a warning tone, but it only served to widen her smirk.

"Hmmm…nope," she kissed him lightly before the others cleared their throats.

"We need to get back to the Helicarrier, Amy is not fully recovered," Rania announced, and Ko sighed, getting to her feet. Black Widow was pulling the unconscious Siren up, and Thor hauled her over his shoulder. As soon as Loki got to his feet, he grabbed Ko and pulled her close.

"I'm gonna regret that, aren't I?" Ko grinned guiltily up at the now smirking man.

"Oh yes. Completely," Loki nodded, releasing her after kissing her forehead. Ko sighed, and they returned to the jets with Siren, keeping a close eye on the girl to ensure it didn't happen again. Annoyance swelled up in Ko as she sat down, shaking her head. Once again Asta had escaped. Once again she would be able to cause problems, and continue to threaten Runa.

**Hope you guys liked! Won't be updating tomorrow, going to the zoo!**

**Anyways, let me know what ya think!**


	7. The Exiled Warrior

Chapter 7: The Exiled Warrior

"Prove it," Loki was smirking down at Ko, who was sprawled on the ground breathing heavily, her staff across the room. A few days had passed without incident, which had everyone completely on edge, and everyone was still thinking back on the fight with Siren. She'd been taken in and monitored by women, ensuring she could not hypnotise anyone.

Ko and Loki had decided to get some training in while Runa slept, and Rania kept an eye on her. And now Loki was paying Ko back for not letting him up when she took him down while he had been hypnotised.

"You really want to do this?" Ko questioned, looking from his staff, which was pointed at her chest, up to his face.

"The question is, Koba, do you?" Loki replied, still smirking widely. Ko's eyes were narrowed, before she smirked back. She grabbed his staff and leapt up, getting in close. Loki barely managed to avoid her fist, which whistled past his ear, before she swung a kick that he leapt back to avoid. He recovered quickly, aiming his staff at her shoulder, which was still a little bruised after their fight. Ko sidestepped, grabbing his wrist, and shoved him back so he hit the wall. She leaned closer, smirking.

"And that's how I prove it," she breathed. Loki's eyes narrowed, but his smirk returned and he pushed her back.

"Not good enough," his voice was light, and the two continued to fight. By the end, Ko was in the corner, breathing even heavier as she watched Loki, who had his hand on her neck. Both their weapons had been thrown across the room, there were a few dents in the walls and a hole in the floor. "That wasn't exactly proving it Koba," Loki teased.

"I told you before. I'll do it when you least expect it," Ko replied softly, managing to catch her breath as she grabbed his hand. She pulled his hand from her neck, and reached out, pulling him into a kiss. "Which I proved already, even if you don't remember it and refuse to watch the footage," she hissed against his lips.

"Stop already," Loki breathed back, resuming the kiss and making her grin into it.

"Hate to interrupt this moment, but we have a problem," Rania announced loudly as she walked in.

"What now?" Loki sighed heavily as he pulled away, which only make Ko grin more at his frustration. She pulled out of his grip and over to Rania, taking her daughter from her.

"Well," Rania cast her gaze over the training room. "Not only is Director Fury going to kill you for damaging the training room, _again_," she looked at Ko specifically at this point. "But also, there have been readings of another Asgardian in this realm."

"What?" Loki frowned as Ko looked up quickly in surprise. Odin had barely allowed them to go. There was no way it was anyone that he had allowed. Just who would show up on Earth, when there was such a problem?

1-2-3-4-5

Thor was slightly stunned as he stood facing a man he had never expected to see again. The man was taller than him, but less muscled. He had blond hair and grey eyes, which were outlined by wrinkles as he smirked widely.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Prince Thor?" his voice was deep, and laced with amusement. He was enjoying the fact that the Asgardian was taken by surprise. "And Prince Loki too," his grey eyes slid to Loki, who looked just as stunned to see him.

_Styxx let out a deep chuckle that rumbled like thunder as he drew his sword. Loki's back hit the wall. His mind was racing, but he couldn't think of anything that could help him._

"You know him?" Hawkeye questioned, an arrow aimed at the man whose sword was pressed against Thor's hammer. "He's the Asgardian we picked up readings of…" he hissed as realisation hit him.

"Took you long enough to realise, mortal," the man smirked, but didn't look at him. "That…woman…she brought me here. Told me I could finish what I once started," he shrugged. Loki visibly stiffened, his knuckles turning white as he gripped his staff tighter. "How she knows about that is beyond me, but who am I to turn down an offer like that?"

"Styxx, you speak nonsense," Thor shook his head, and shoved the man back. "What you did before was madness. Do not follow Asta," he told the Asgardian, who snorted in laughter.

"You think I would follow a _woman_ into battle?" he questioned mockingly. "I am simply finishing what I started all those years ago," Styxx told them. "So I would advise you, not to get in my way," he shot at Thor, but as the prince retaliated, Styxx's form shattered.

"An illusion," Loki hissed, casting his own magic out to sense the Asgardian. He spun and blocked the attack that Styxx had been aiming for his back with.

"You are not the only one who knows magic," Styxx told him. Loki's green eyes narrowed as he felt himself being pushed back by the force.

"I am very aware of that. I do remember why you were exiled," he replied coolly, and swung his staff.

"You were but a child back then, and now you're all grown up," Styxx spoke mockingly. "And I've heard about what you've been up to. Perhaps it would have been better to have killed you then," he spoke as he didn't press down any harder. "But it was my foolish arrogance that allowed you to survive long enough for the All-Father to stop me," Loki's eyes narrowed as he remembered that day clearly.

Styxx had been one of the top generals in Odin's army in the war against the Frost Giants. There weren't many in Asgard who did not know his name. Then suddenly, he seemed to go insane, and attacked several soldiers before going after Loki. He'd managed to use what magic he knew to protect himself, long enough for others to arrive and take Styxx down. All anyone knew after that was that he'd been banished to the farthest reaches of the 9 realms.

"Enough!" Thor's hammer narrowly missed Styxx's head.

"My my, you've got a bit of a temper, don't you Thor?" the Asgardian mocked, and caught the arrow that Hawkeye fired at him. Loki leapt back, recognising it well. The arrow exploded, and Styxx was thrown through a building. "That's a good trick, but it's hardly enough," Styxx clambered out of the rubble, a couple of small cuts on his face, and his bulky armour was singed. Thor held out his hand, calling Mjolnir back to him. The hammer flew back to his hand, and he moved to throw it again, but Styxx launched at him before he could. He caught another arrow and tossed it aside, before kicking Thor in the stomach.

"You've lost your touch over the years," Loki commented as he moved in to attack again. Styxx gave a laugh and avoided his attack, swinging his sword at his head. Loki blocked, and Styxx leapt back as Thor joined in.

"I don't believe you have any right to be arrogant," Styxx told him, smirking as Thor's hammer went straight through him. They were surrounded by illusions, all of which were smirking as they aimed their swords at the two.

"Guys, I can't hit them all!" Hawkeye called as his eyes darted to each of the copies.

"That one," Loki finally locked onto the real one, and aimed a hit at him, only for Styxx to dodge and slam a punch into his cheek. Loki went spinning aside, his staff falling from his hands. Styxx then caught an arrow that Hawkeye had fired at him, but when he attempted to toss it aside, it seemed to explode with foam, completely covering him and hardening. "That won't hold him for long. He's skilled with magic," Loki spoke as he got to his feet, holding his cheek.

"Who even is this guy?" Hawkeye questioned, keeping his eyes on the hardened foam.

"An Asgardian exile. He was one of the best, until he turned on Asgard," Thor commented as he watched Loki, who was looking at the foam.

"You guys love your traitors, don't you?" Loki's eyes shot to him as Hawkeye retrieved one of the arrows that had been cast aside, fixing it quickly.

"You know nothing of which you speak. I suggest you remain quiet," his voice was low.

"Enough. We have enough of a problem without fighting each other," Thor warned.

"Indeed," Styxx's voice came from behind Hawkeye. The assassin spun around, and the Asgardian sliced through his bow. Hawkeye reacted instantly, drawing a knife and blocking the sword. "You have skills, but they are not enough," Styxx then punched him in the stomach, and tossed him aside as Thor stopped him from dealing another blow.

"_Enough_," Thor warned, finally pushed too far by the exile. "This planet is under my protection," he told Styxx. "And I will not have you work with those who would do these mortals harm," Styxx sighed heavily, shaking his head mockingly.

"I've told you already, I'm not working with anyone. And I am not aiming to do these…mortals harm," he viewed Hawkeye with distain as the assassin got to his feet. "I simply wish to finish what I started," Styxx repeated, and shot at Loki, who disappeared. "Impressive, but once again, not good enough," he turned and caught Loki's arm with his sword as the prince swung his staff. Styxx hid his wince as the staff still caught his upper arm. Thor lunged at him with a loud roar, but Styxx flipped, kicking him in the chest and throwing him aside before swinging at Loki again. However, his sword rebounded off another staff, and both Loki and Styxx blinked as Ko stood between them, watching the much taller Asgardian with a cold look.

**Ended up with a stomach bug yesterday so had to spend the day in bed instead of going to the zoo…**

**Anyways, hope you liked this chapter!**


	8. A Heated Battle

Chapter 8: A Heated Battle

"Mind if I step in?" Ko questioned in a soft voice, but there was a fierce tone underlying it as she stood between Loki and Styxx. Styxx raised an eyebrow as he surveyed the female warrior, who was no more than 5'8, tiny compared to the two men she stood between. Small in comparison to most Asgardians in general.

"…You, want to fight _me_?" Styxx smirked after his initial surprise died down. He towered over her, looking amused at her challenge.

"I'm sorry, was my question too complicated for you to understand?" Ko questioned, ignoring his attempt to intimidate her. Styxx's smirk faded at her blatant insult, and his grey eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Koba, don't you dare," Loki caught her wrist and pulled her back. Ko yanked herself free, refusing to back down.

"Koba…?" Styxx's eyes widened slightly in recognition. "The little girl who tried to defend you," his eyes darted briefly to Loki, and back to Ko, who watched him with a glare.

"_General, what are you doing?" Loki was only a child when he witnessed death for the first time. Styxx cut through a soldier who had stood in his way, and continued towards Loki. There was an almost crazed look in his eyes, and Loki looked up from the body to the general who he had seen many times with his father._

"_I will end this…" Styxx growled, and Loki stepped back as the other guards around stepped in, and were all cut down too._

"_What are you planning to do General? What do you want to end?" Loki was smart enough to know he had to stall. There was only one man strong enough to take down Styxx alone. These guards were not trained to take on someone like him. Most of them had not even fought in wars, having been recruited after the war with the Frost Giants._

_Styxx let out a deep chuckle that rumbled like thunder as he drew his sword. Loki's back hit the wall. His mind was racing, but he couldn't think of anything that could help him._

"_Nice try boy, but I've been in this business long enough to know when someone's stalling," Styxx told him softly. "You do seem like an interesting one, but I cannot allow you to live," he swung his sword, and it went straight through Loki. "What the…damn!" he realised what had happened, and looked around wildly. He spotted the young prince sprinting away down the corridor, and made to run after him, before pausing. He flung out a hand, and one of the columns seemed to crack and fall, straight onto another illusion. "You are a resourceful one," Styxx smirked, before teleporting so he stood in front of the real Loki. The prince skidded to a stop so fast that he stumbled over his feet and fell. "But you are nowhere near my level," he stabbed forwards, only for his sword to be knocked aside by something metal; the clashing sound ringing through the corridors._

_Styxx had never been taken by surprise before, until now. He stared down at the girl, who was slightly smaller than Loki. Her brown hair was cropped short roughly, and amber eyes glared up at the man who was much taller than she was. She held a long staff that was as tall as she was, and Styxx vaguely noted that she must have been one of the two girls who had managed to convince the All-Father to let them train to be warriors._

"_Koba, don't!" Loki's green eyes were wide as he stared up at Ko, who didn't move, or even turn to look at him._

"_Loki, go, __**now**__," her voice was soft, but there was a toughness to it that Styxx had never heard a woman use. Especially not to royalty. "Get up!" without taking her eyes off Styxx, she kicked her foot back, slamming it against Loki's chest. He fell back, before getting to his feet quickly._

"_Not so fast," Styxx moved around Ko, and reached out to grab Loki by the throat, only for Ko to step in the way. Her staff connected with his hand, hard, and he was surprised by the strength of it. "You're strong…for a girl. But you are no match for me_," _his other hand slammed into her face and knocked her flying into a pillar. Loki looked up at Styxx, his eyes wide as he regripped his sword. "She had heart, but even that was no use," Styxx went to deal the finishing blow, only for a blast of magic to catch him in the chest. He flew down the corridor, and Loki spun around to find his father striding forwards, his staff in hand and a dark expression on his face. Styxx let out a low growl. He'd failed._

Styxx stared at the young woman who once again stood in the way of what he wanted. The same defiance and courage showed in her expression, and Loki was still trying to get her to back down.

"You should listen to him and stay out of this. This is no place for a woman," Ko's expression dropped as surprise took over, and Loki put a hand to his face.

"That was not something you should have said," he muttered, and Styxx looked at him for a split second before Ko's fist smashed into his jaw. Styxx went flying into a building, and Loki sighed heavily.

"And you still continue to deny you have a temper?" he asked. Ko looked around, her eyes still narrowed, and Loki raised his hands in defence, before wincing as the cut down his arm protested. The fury in Ko's eyes faded and she reached out, touching his arm gently to examine the wound before she pulled out a Healing Stone. Styxx clambered from the wreckage, and instantly Thor tackled him.

"Well…he's good for something," Ko muttered as she crushed the Healing Stone over Loki's arms, despite his protests that he could heal it himself. Thor and Styxx circled each other, with Styxx regarding Thor with annoyance.

"I told you already, I have no quarrel with you," Styxx told him, before Thor slammed his hammer against the exile's chest.

"He is my brother, and so if you have a quarrel with him, then you have one with me," Thor told him loudly, and Styxx coughed, rubbing his chest before laughing.

"Really now?" he questioned, flinging out a hand. "After everything, after all you know, you would still call him family?" Styxx asked.

"He knows," Ko barely heard Loki's whisper, and spun around, just as fire seemed to burst out of nowhere, surrounding them. The sudden powerful heat made Ko stagger a little, and as she caught herself, Loki fell into her. Ko steadied him, but his expression was pained. At first, Ko was confused as to what was wrong, but then she realised. The heat was too much for a Frost Giant.

"What are you doing?" Thor went to attack Styxx again, but taller warrior was ready, and kicked him back.

"Thor!" Ko called, finding herself having to support Loki more every second. "He knows! About Loki!" she exclaimed, and Styxx let out another laugh as Thor looked at her quickly.

"Well well, it seems even the little _protector_ knows the secret kept even from the abomination himself," Styxx commented with a shrug. "I was Odin's right hand general in that war. Of course I knew. I was there when he found him. A Frost Giant makes play he's an Asgardian. I couldn't let someone like that claim to be royalty," he shook his head, before Thor slammed his hammer into him.

"That is not for you to decide!" he roared as the fire faded slightly. As he continued to bombard Styxx with attacks, Hawkeye managed to make his way over to the swirling fire.

"Don't get too close," Ko warned as she held out a hand, using the other to keep Loki upright. She was struggling a little with the heat too, but not to as strong an extent. The air around her seemed to ripple, and Hawkeye assumed it was the heat, until it pulsed, and the fire was extinguished. Hawkeye managed to catch both and keep them upright. "Thank you…please…keep an eye on him," Ko looked up and Hawkeye found himself unable to say no as he saw the fear in her eyes.

"I'll do my best," he felt odd, holding up the man who had once enslaved him. Ko nodded, and turned, running towards the battle between Thor and Styxx.

"No…dammit…" Loki stirred just in time to watch her run towards the two, and Hawkeye was forced to hold on tighter.

"If you struggle, I will not hesitate to drop you," he warned coldly. Loki couldn't help but laugh weakly.

"What an odd scenario, Barton. One I never expected to happen," he stated.

"You and me both. Just stay quiet, or I'll rethink not sticking that arrow in your eye," Loki gave another weak laugh, but didn't speak again.

"You have magic? Odd, normally I can sense that straight away," Styxx commented as Ko stood beside Thor.

"Ko, you know you shouldn't be using-" Ko shushed Thor before he could finish speaking, and gripped her staff tighter.

"You know, you're interesting," Styxx commented as he watched Ko. "And very protective of him," he added, before rushing forwards. He blocked their attacks and grabbed Ko's wrist. His eyes landed on the gold band around her finger, and his lips curled in a smirk. "Oh, that is just too poetic," he laughed, before Thor punched him, forcing Styxx to release Ko, who slammed her staff into his stomach. Most of the blow was absorbed by his armour, but he still staggered back from the force of both attacks.

"I warned you, did I not?" they all looked around at Asta, who was sitting on part of the rubble. "You will not persuade them to turn on him, regardless of how much he may stab his fool of a '_brother_' in the back," she shrugged.

"I have told you, I do not desire nor do I need your help," Styxx told her roughly. "Begone woman," Asta twitched, but her smirk remained after a bit of fighting.

"Oh? And what if I told you something of interest regarding the Frost Giant you are so determined to kill?" Ko's eyes widened and she rushed at Asta, who just managed to block her attack in time. "Ohh, I doubt this will help to quell his curiosity now," she warned in amusement. Ko let out a snarl and swung a punch, only for Styxx to catch it. His huge hands swamped Ko's wrist, and it took Thor hitting him again for him to release her.

"What is it?" Styxx demanded to Asta, who was smirking as she now stood on the rubble, waiting for Ko to attack her again.

"He has a daughter," these words made Styxx freeze. "Half Frost Giant, half Asgardian," Ko tackled Asta as she finished speaking, and Styxx snapped to.

"This…no…" he shook his head, seeming to be unable to process this. With a swing of his hand, he knocked Thor aside, before walking over and grabbing Ko, yanking her off Asta. He then tossed her aside, and pulled Asta to her feet. "Tell me everything," he instructed, and she smirked, taking his wrist before disappearing.

"Loki…" Ko tried to ignore the fact that she was shaking, and hurried back over to where Loki was now sitting.

"She appeared again," Thor announced, having followed her over. "Asta. She took Styxx with her," Hawkeye sighed.

"That teleporting power of hers is a real pain in the ass," he growled, glancing at Loki as he stood up. He still looked a little weak, but he was better than he had been.

"You've got to stop jumping into fights," Loki told Ko as she stood in front of him. She quirked an eyebrow, and after a moment, she punched his arm.

"And _you've _got to stop making me worry, Loki," she replied as he rubbed his arm. "And now Styxx knows about Runa. We have to stop Asta. Soon," Ko looked around at the other two, who nodded in agreement. With every passing day, she was bringing more and more trouble to Earth, and they weren't sure how much longer the civilians would be able to cope.

**I hope you guys liked it! I'll post the next chapter tomorrow, and then I won't be updating until Monday, since my friends are coming over for the weekend to celebrate my birthday, which is on Tuesday .**

**Let me know what ya think!**


	9. Truth Revealed, The Team Disassembled

Chapter 9: The Truth Revealed, The Team Disassembled

"Steve, I'm fine now. Stop fussing," Amy scolded the soldier as he attempted to stop her getting out of her bed in the medical bay. Steve looked a little hesitant, especially when he saw a flicker of pain show on her face for a moment. "I'm ok. Just a little sore still," she shrugged, walking over to him and taking his hands.

"You really shouldn't have gone to that fight," Steve told her, meaning the fight with Siren. Amy had returned with even more bruises and cuts, and her healing ribs had been cracked again.

"They needed help. Like it or not Steve, I'm part of this fight. Even when I'm injured," she smiled up at him softly. Steve sighed and nodded, and Amy reached up to press a light kiss to his lips. "Where is everyone now anyway? I hear K is banned from the training room since she destroyed it again," Amy couldn't help but grin in amusement. At least she wasn't the only one that wrecked things.

"Stark's back at his tower, something about his business not running itself. And something about Miss Potts. Since Bruce is working there too, he went with him. I asked Thor to keep an eye on his brother and Kobalos," Steve told her as they left the medical bay, her hand in his.

"You still don't trust them, do you?" Amy glanced up at him, and Steve sighed.

"Do you?" he asked, and Amy looked away, remaining silent. "I know they're on our side, but the moment we stop Asta, what's to stop them from turning on us again? Even the Devil can cite scripture for his purpose," Steve quoted, and Amy nodded.

"Yeah. I don't trust them either, but we don't have much of a choice if we want to stop Asta. We need to be a team. We are nothing like we were last year," Amy sighed, running a hand through her hair, which was loose around her shoulders. "Tony's right. We take a lot of traction to get moving properly," she commented, and Steve let out a light chuckle.

"True. It will happen though. We defeated an army; we can take out a crazed warrior," he squeezed her hand, and Amy couldn't help but giggle. They walked into the rec room, which had been taken over by the Avengers since they had returned. They were greeted by the sight of Thor, Rania and Ko playing cards with a couple of agents, as well as Clint. Loki was sitting close by, choosing to read while Runa slept in a makeshift bed of pillows beside him.

"What are you playing?" Amy asked as she walked over, making them look up from their cards.

"Poker," Clint replied as he placed two cards down and lifted another two.

"I hope you're not gambling," Steve frowned as he walked over too.

"Sure we are," Clint spoke in a mockingly innocent voice. "I work here too Rodgers, I'm not an idiot," he spoke as Thor placed down a couple of cards and lifted their replacements. "You two want to join in? We're just betting cookies I stole from Amy," Amy grabbed a chair at Clint's invitation, slapping his arm as he grinned, and Steve joined in shortly after.

"I dislike that Rania seems to always be winning," Amy commented after a short time of playing.

"Just luck," Rania grinned back in amusement. However, it dropped as Ko won the next round. "Let me guess, you were waiting for your moment?" Ko smirked, and just gave a shrug as she collected her winnings.

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Amy was completely shocked over how things had suddenly turned so crazy. One moment they're actually all getting along, and the next they're all snapping at each other.

It hadn't been long after Tony had returned, one snide comment had been made, and it had turned into a full on argument about Agent Coulson. Steve still felt guilty over never getting a chance to sign Coulson's Captain America cards before he had died.

"Hey, you can't talk Stark; you barely even paid him attention!" Steve and Tony were staring each other down. "You never gave him respect; you treated him like he was below you! Something, I note, you do to everyone else around here!" Steve growled.

"Now Cap, you should know better than anyone that you have to earn respect. You can't just demand it," Tony replied coldly. He kept clenching and unclenching his fists, dying to swing for him, but knowing without his suit the soldier would wipe the floor with him.

"Guys knock it off!" Amy was trying to push them apart, and was failing miserably.

"What about after he was killed? You called him an idiot!" Steve reminded Tony with a scowl. "He gave his life to help us, and you gave him even less respect!" he exclaimed. "You really are just looking out for yourself."

"Hey, if I don't, who will?" Tony shrugged, but his eyes were narrowed dangerously. "Keep talking, old man, because you're just pushing me to hit you," he warned. "Coulson was an idiot. He went after those two psychopaths-" he paused for a moment to gesture to Loki and Ko. "By himself. He got himself killed," Tony stated.

"Wondered how long that would take," Ko muttered to Loki, who gave a small shrug, looking a little bored.

"I wouldn't be so calm about everything, you're the one who killed him," Amy spat, and Ko let out a small laugh, getting to her feet.

"Stark pointed out himself. He was an idiot who got in my way twice," she pointed out.

"Ko, do not start this. These people are helping you stop Asta," Rania hissed at her.

"Well you and Meat Swing there aren't exactly blameless in this whole scenario," Tony glanced at her quickly.

"Us? What exactly did we do?" Thor blinked, unfolding his arms. He'd been silent the entire argument, just watching as he was uncomfortably reminded of them all fighting the previous year, moments before the engine had exploded and all hell broke loose.

"He's your brother!" Amy pointed out.

"You let your problems in your own world spill into ours, and we're paying the price for it," Natasha spoke up. Neither she nor Clint could get over what had happened when Clint had been possessed by the Tesseract.

"If you had been acting like the team you claim to be, instead of fighting like children, perhaps he wouldn't have tried to stop us himself," Ko shrugged, and Amy looked close to attacking her.

"If I recall it was you mortals messing with Tesseract that started all this nonsense," Rania stated quickly.

"That may be, but it's not like S.H.I.E.L.D. started using it as an invitation for others to come and take over our minds," Clint replied coldly. "I didn't ask to be possessed by it, to have my entire being ripped out and changed," he still had nightmares about it.

"And you think I did?" Loki's words were low, but they made everyone else in the room freeze, and all eyes went to him. Ko was watching him silently, looking concerned. "You think you were the only one possessed, Agent Barton?" Loki gave a low laugh.

"Loki…you were…?" Thor could barely even muster the words as he stared in disbelief at his brother. Loki didn't even look at him.

"You didn't see his eyes?" Ko looked at Thor, the worry changing to rage. "You didn't notice the change in him?" she shook her head in disgust.

"You two had been gone for months. We did not know what happened to Loki," Rania spoke when Thor couldn't.

"Like you would even have cared," Loki snapped, and Ko reached out, putting a hand on his arm.

"We weren't exactly paying much attention to the whole 'being controlled by the Tesseract', considering we were trying to protect the world," Tony replied smoothly, giving a shrug.

"Hey, you can't even talk! You barely even wanted to be part of this team until you realised that they were using your precious tower to summon an army!" Steve snapped back, and just like that, more arguing broke out.

"We're not even a team! We were hardly a team last year!" Amy exclaimed in exasperation. "It took Coulson dying for us to even work together!" she wasn't even trying to stop the fighting any more.

"What is going on in here?!" Fury demanded as he walked in with Maria. They barely glanced at the two before the arguing just seemed to get louder.

"Who knows if Coulson is actually even dead?!" Tony spoke loudly, looking at Fury. Everyone else stopped arguing to look at him in surprise. "I mean no-one else saw him, only you," he spoke smoothly, his eyes trained on Fury.

"Are you accusing me of something, Mr Stark?" Fury asked in a flat voice, betraying nothing.

"I'm just saying, none of us saw real proof that he died. And the cards you claimed to have been in his jacket pocket, had been left in his locker," Tony pointed out. Nobody knew how he'd gotten that information, but nobody spoke.

"It's not like you would have noticed his absence regardless, Mr Stark," Fury replied coldly, and Amy frowned.

"You're kidding me. Coulson's still alive? You lied to us?" she demanded.

"Come on now Sparkles, you're acting like Fury lying is a rare occurrence," Tony told her, and Amy shot her glare at him momentarily before she looked back at Fury.

"You lied about Coulson's death to get us to fight," Amy was not happy about this in the slightest. Her purple aura was flickering into view as she struggled to keep a grip on her powers again.

"Did I say that he's still alive?" Fury looked at her, still not betraying anything. Maria, on the other hand, was starting to look a little uncomfortable.

"No, but you haven't told us that he's dead either," Steve spoke up. Fury glanced at him, but didn't speak.

"You needed the push," he finally stated, and was forced to move quickly as Amy let out a yell and tossed several energy orbs at him.

"I'm out of here!" she announced angrily, storming off and not even looking around as Steve called her name. He sighed heavily and started after her.

"Sparkles has the right idea. I'm sick of being used by these idiots," Tony stormed out next, and Fury shook his head. Aware that the rest of the room was watching him, he composed himself and let, closely followed by Maria.

"Looks like the team finally collapsed," Ko murmured as she slumped down beside Runa, amazed her daughter had slept through everything.

"Barely was a team to begin with," Natasha replied shortly as she turned and walked out with Clint, and Rania looked to Thor with a worried expression. He tried to give a reassuring smile, but it was weak, and instead he pulled her closer, still thinking about Loki's words only minutes before.

**Hope you guys like it! I won't be updating until Monday, possibly Sunday, depending on how I feel!**

**Let me know what ya think!**


	10. Struggling

Chapter 10: Struggling

Amy sat on a swing in the park, swinging lightly as she watched families playing happily. She always seemed to go to the park when she was annoyed or upset. It was a bright, sunny day, completely contrasting to Amy's mood. She pushed lightly, swinging a little higher as a couple of children ran past, laughing as they were completely oblivious to the threat made to Earth.

"I knew you'd be here," she didn't look up as Steve sat down on the swing beside hers. "Come on Amy," Steve sighed as he watched her. She continued to swing lightly, her eyes moving down to the grass that she was skimming with her feet.

"I'm not going back Steve," Amy finally looked up. "I'm sick of being lied to. Sick of being used," she muttered as tears burned at her grey eyes.

"I know," Steve got up and crouched in front of her. "I'm not here to make you go back," he told her softly. "I'm just here to see if you're ok," Amy didn't reply, and Steve straightened up, pulling her off the swing and into a tight embrace. She didn't struggle, instead reaching up to hold onto his arms tightly. After a few minutes, she pulled away, and the two sat down in the grass. "Why do you come here?" Steve asked curiously, putting his arm around her.

"Because it shows me what I missed," Amy murmured. Steve looked around at the families, understanding what she meant. She hadn't had much of a childhood, having been thrown out at age 10 because of her powers. "And what I have to protect," she added, leaning into him. "I…I have to keep fighting…I don't have a choice," she sighed, shaking her head.

"Yes you do Amy," Steve turned her to face him, and she blinked in surprise. "You either want to fight, or you don't. And if you don't, then you're not going to put your heart into it like I've seen you do before," he told her. "You've already gotten hurt in this battle…I can't lose you," Steve admitted, looking away as he felt himself going red.

"Steve…you're too cute," Amy couldn't help but giggle, and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his lips.

"I-I'm not cute," he spluttered as he pulled away, going even redder as Amy laughed even more.

"Thanks Steve," she smiled, leaning in again and kissing him, making him fall back into the grass. Parents nearby gave them dirty looks and pulled their children away, and the two couldn't help but laugh. Steve went red at the position they were in, looking up at his girlfriend. "So is this what it's like to be 'normal'?" Amy questioned, leaning on his chest.

"I wouldn't know," Steve chuckled, not bothering to move. He pulled her down into another kiss, before she rolled off him and lay in the grass beside him, their hands finding each other and entwining.

"I'm going to think about it. Fighting, I mean," Amy stated as she looked up at the sky. "I might, I might not. I just need some time," Steve squeezed her hand lightly.

"That's fine," he told her, also looking up at the sky.

1-2-3-4-5

"I would not recommend walking out there," Ko shivered as she walked back into the rec room.

"Why?" Loki raised an eyebrow as he looked up from Runa, who had finally woken up. She instantly twisted in his grip, reaching out to Ko.

"Thor and Rania are, eh, _comforting _each other," Ko shivered again before taking Runa from her husband. Loki's face twisted in disgust, before he shook his head. "Why did you tell them?" Ko's voice was soft after a moment as she finally dared to ask. The Tesseract was something they had an unspoken agreement to never mention.

"Because I am sick of Barton acting like he was the only victim in all this," Loki sighed heavily. Ko set Runa down carefully, back onto the pillow bed, and pulled Loki into her arms, much to his surprise.

"It wasn't your fault," she murmured, and he turned his head to kiss her fiercely. "You're going to scar our daughter," Ko couldn't help but smirk, but her hands rested on the back of his neck and pulled him back in.

"You aren't blameless you know," Loki mumbled back, and Ko chuckled as they finally broke apart, but Loki kept her close. "You were the only thing keeping me from losing myself entirely," he murmured, and Ko smiled gently.

"You realise if you had, I'd have found you and dragged you ass back?" she told him, and Loki laughed lightly, before looking down at Runa as he realised she was staring at them. "Oh sorry, are we not paying you enough attention?" Ko laughed as she lifted her into her arms, and Runa broke into a wide smile. "I love you Loki, I won't let you fall," Ko looked up at her husband, who pressed another kiss to her lips. "And I _will _kill Asta," she muttered as she looked down at Runa, who was looking a little annoyed again as they seemed to be paying each other more attention.

"I believe she already has the makings of your temper," Loki teased, smirking up at Ko, who narrowed her eyes at him.

"Do not make me hit you Loki," she warned.

"That's not helping disprove that you have a temper, Koba," Loki continued to tease, and Ko blushed, shaking her head as he laughed.

"This team…will they be able to make a comeback?" Ko questioned softly after a minute, her eyes on Runa. "Even I am not so arrogant to think we can defeat these enemies without help," she admitted as she gently rocked her daughter, who was slowly falling asleep, but still staring up at her parents.

"We learnt from last year that these mortals are stubborn," Loki's eyes had turned haunted, as they did when he thought about Styxx, which had become more frequent since his reappearance on Earth. "They will band together when they need to. When they are needed," he murmured, and Ko leaned into him, careful not to stir Runa as she fell asleep.

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"Rania," the Healer looked up at Thor, who had his arms wrapped around her in a hug. "Know that I will support you in whatever you decide, but will you remain in this fight?" Thor asked softly, and Rania couldn't help but smile as she reached up, putting a hand on his face.

"It is funny that you would ask me this, when you were so opposed to me coming with you here," she reminded him, and Thor spluttered a little as he released her.

"You were _stabbed_!" he exclaimed. "Through the chest!" he reminded her, but Rania just looked amused, as if he were over-exaggerating.

"I am quite aware of that Thor. I was there," she teased lightly, before sighing. "Look Thor, I just feel better if I'm with you. Even if I'm staying behind on healing duty – which is what I do as the profession I chose, I feel…well, safer," she shrugged, blushing lightly.

"But you were stabbed," Thor whispered, and Rania sighed again, shaking her head.

"That wasn't your fault. We were in the middle of a war. I did not, no, I _do not _want nor need you to protect me," she told him sternly. "Now stop with this guilt, or I will be forced to knock some sense into you," Thor blinked at Rania's words.

"I believe you spend too much time with Kobalos…you're getting her temper," he finally spoke, and flinched as Rania slapped his arm. He laughed, wrapping his other arm around her and pulled her in as she tried to slap him again. "You are not proving me wrong you know," he told her, and she pressed a kiss to his lips to shut him up.

"Do you think the mortals will be able to come back from this?" Rania asked softly after pulling away.

"I am not sure," Thor admitted. "The very thing that drove them was a lie. They will need something else to motivate them, or I do not believe we will have help in this fight," Rania pulled out of his arms and leaned against the wall beside him.

"What drives you to continue fighting, Thor?" the prince glanced at Rania as she asked this.

"The planet is under my protection. Asta threatens Midgard, just as she did Asgard," Thor stated, before shrugging. "And I will never forgive her for hurting you, Rania. I will see her pay for her actions," he swore. Rania took his hand, leaning into him.

"Just don't get hurt in the process Thor," she told him.

"Me? Let myself be injured?" Thor grinned at her. "You think too little of me Rania, I am better than that!" he exclaimed, and Rania rolled her eyes.

"Your frequent trips to the Healing Room tell a completely different story Thor," Rania was grinning in amusement by this point. Thor just laughed, wrapping an arm around her, hoping that it would comfort her and help stop her worries, at least for the time being.

**So I was gonna update on Monday, but I ended up going to see the Bourne Legacy after everyone left…it was awesome! Then yesterday was my birthday, so now I'm back to posting! Yay!**

**Hope you guys liked it!**


	11. One Final Ally

Chapter 11: One Final Ally

Hawkeye had been minding his own business, just taking a walk and trying to clear his mind of all the crazy happenings of the previous few days. And now, instead of being able to do that, he was stuck trying to figure out where the crazy ninja guy was.

"_What do you mean, he looks like a ninja_?" Fury actually sounded confused as Hawkeye reported it in.

"Exactly that sir," the archer sighed from behind the overturned car he was hiding behind to avoid being attacked. "He's wearing black ninja gear," he looked up and dove out of the way as a knife slammed into the car where his head had been. "And he's moving around at an unnatural rate," Hawkeye added as another knife shot at him from another direction. Where he was getting all these knives, Hawkeye had no idea.

"_Are you sure there isn't more than one of him, Agent Barton_?" Fury questioned. Hawkeye opened his mouth to reply, only to flinch as he wasn't fast enough to dodge a third knife, which caught his side.

"I'm sure," he could see the man popping up from the roofs of different buildings. After dodging yet another knife, Hawkeye reached his backpack, relieved that he had drilled it into himself to bring it everywhere. He pulled out his bow and the arrows that he had been able to fit into it, and dodged another knife. Now he was armed, he needed to get to higher ground.

"_Agent Romanoff is on her way_," Fury's voice crackled over the radio as Hawkeye managed to get into a building with a set of stairs that led to the rooftop.

"Interesting that she would send me after another assassin," as soon as he stepped out onto the roof, Hawkeye heard a soft voice and looked around quickly, finding the ninja crouched above the entrance to the roof.

"Who are you?" Hawkeye had an arrow nocked and aimed at the man in an instant.

"Come on Agent Barton, you should know that assassins don't exchange pleasantries such as names," the man stood up. "But I suppose you can call me Shadow."

"I've never heard of you," Hawkeye stated, and the man's brown eyes – the only visible part of him – narrowed, and he leapt off the roof, straight at Hawkeye. The Archer waited until the last moment, and fired his arrow.

Only for Shadow to disappear.

Hawkeye's eyes widened and he looked around quickly, scanning his surroundings for any sign of the assassin. He heard the man laugh, and turned around; drawing the knife he kept against his leg, to block a knife. "You're not that great if you give yourself away like that," Hawkeye told him with an air of indifference. He was a mutant. A teleporter.

"Just giving you a little bit of an advantage," Shadow told him. Hawkeye really didn't like this guy. He was far too arrogant. And going around announcing he was an assassin.

"Right…" Hawkeye swung a kick at him, and Shadow disappeared. Hawkeye swung around instantly, and Shadow was unable to evade as the blade raked him up the face, between the eyes. He let out an agonising yell as he staggered back, putting a hand to his face. Hawkeye saw his chance and tossed the knife at him, but Shadow disappeared, reappearing a fair distance away.

"You bastard!" he snarled as blood seeped through his fingers. Hawkeye didn't reply, firing an arrow at him. Shadow disappeared again, and Hawkeye scanned the rooftop for him, only for a gunshot to ring out, making him freeze. It was followed by Shadow screeching again, and falling to the ground, clutching his stomach.

"You're losing your touch," Black Widow commented as she kept her gun on Shadow, who was writhing around on the ground as blood poured from both his face and stomach.

"Thanks Tasha," Hawkeye nodded as he aimed an arrow at Shadow as well. "He's a teleporter," he added as Black Widow walked over to him.

"Let me guess, Asta sent you," Black Widow's words made Shadow stop flailing around. "Answer me, or we'll just put you out of your misery," she warned.

"You already gave away that you were sent, when you said 'interesting that _she_ would sent me after another assassin'. You're really not as good as you imagine," The self-proclaimed assassin swallowed, which gave them their answer. Suddenly he blinked, and his eyes moved so he was looking over Black Widow's shoulder, just as a shadow fell over them. Black Widow spun around to shoot whoever was sneaking up on her, only for a large hand to slam into her face. She was thrown into a wall, creating a dent and collapsing.

"Tasha!" Hawkeye spun around and fired an arrow at Styxx, who caught it.

"Come now boy, you should have learned by now that these won't work on me," Hawkeye hissed a curse under his breath as Styxx snapped the arrow in his hand, and dropped the fragments. "And you, you are useless," Styxx glanced to Shadow, who was pushing himself into a sitting position. "You claim to be an assassin, yet these two are still alive, and you are the one dying," Styxx shook his head and turned his attention back to Hawkeye.

"I thought you weren't working along with Asta," the archer spoke warily, struggling not to turn his back on Styxx and go to Black Widow.

"I'm helping her with something, and in return she helps me with what I want," Styxx shrugged lightly, and drew his sword. "I don't normally bother with mortals, but one of her conditions was that you interfering ones, the 'Avengers', die," Hawkeye fired an arrow at Styxx, which exploded and created a smoke screen. He moved quickly, calling in backup. He grabbed his knife, which had been lying on the ground, and rushed at Styxx to stab him. Styxx disappeared, and Hawkeye flung out an arm to stop himself hitting the wall.

"Really gotta learn when they do that stupid disappearing trick," he muttered.

"As if a mere mortal could even tell," Hawkeye jumped out of the way of Styxx's sword and fired a thick tipped arrow that slammed into Styxx's face and threw him back.

"I think it's time you learned there's nothing simple about being mortal," Hawkeye told him as he moved in close, only for Styxx to grab his wrist as he went to stab him.

"Oh, I think there is," Styxx smirked, before Mjolnir slammed into his chest and he slammed through a wall, releasing Hawkeye in the process.

"I will ask you one last time, Styxx," Thor spoke as he landed nearby with Loki. "Give up this madness," he told Styxx as the Asgardian pulled himself free from the rubble.

"Can't do that Thor," Styxx shook his head, lifting his sword as Thor held out his hand, summoning Mjolnir back to him. "And I am sorry, but if you get in my way, then you will die too," he promised, and shot forwards at Hawkeye. The assassin let loose the arrow he had ready, and Styxx didn't avoid it completely, and it slashed his cheek in passing. Hawkeye then moved back before Styxx could reach him, and a knife pierced Styxx's armour, making him stagger back and roar in pain.

"There is no reasoning with him Thor, so stop trying," Loki told him as he held his staff, ready to attack Styxx as he yanked the knife in his chest free.

"Why does it not surprise me that you would fight with such a weapon?" Styxx growled as he tossed it aside. However, he didn't give Loki a chance to reply as he lunged at him, blocking Thor's attack. Loki blocked his strike and Thor slammed his hammer against Styxx's chest, and Hawkeye fired an arrow that caught Styxx in the small of his back, managing to find a crack in the armour he wore. Styxx let out a roar and slammed his fist into Loki's stomach, throwing him into Thor before ripping out the arrow in his back. He snapped it, and Hawkeye noted with annoyance that he'd now done that twice.

"Come on Thor, I thought you were a better fighter than that," Loki spat out the blood that was swirling about in his mouth as he got up. Thor stood up too, shooting Loki a glare before focusing on Styxx. They continued their fighting, landing blows that would have injured anyone else, but the two barely even seemed to notice. They all froze as a gunshot rang out again, and looked around to find Shadow collapsing behind Hawkeye, who had been aiming another arrow at Styxx, with a bullet hole through his head.

"You're really losing your touch," Black Widow told Hawkeye as she got to her feet, looking a little beaten but still strong.

"Good to know you've still got my back Tash," Hawkeye told her, and while still looking at her, fired the arrow at Styxx. This one exploded and created another smokescreen, temporarily blinding them all. However, Thor knew exactly where Styxx was and tossed Mjolnir. He heard a loud 'thunk' as it met its mark, and Styxx let out a roar.

"You are ants! All of you! And I _will squash you all_!" Styxx roared, and appeared behind Hawkeye, grabbing his arm and throwing him into Black Widow. The two slammed into a wall, and Styxx instantly turned to Thor and Loki. He caught the knife Loki had thrown, and threw it back at him. Loki's arm stung with pain as it caught him, before Styxx moved in close and head-butted Thor, before grabbing Loki's staff. However, before he could finish attacking Loki, a bright blue light slammed into him and threw him off the rooftop.

"Do I really need to save your asses?" Iron Man asked in exasperation as he landed on the roof. Thor was getting to his feet, his head pounding as he now felt what it was like to be one of his opponents. Hawkeye was helping Black Widow up, and she looked even worse than she had only moments ago.

"You won't be saving their asses, because you'll be joining them!" Styxx roared as he leapt up behind Iron Man, and punched him in the chest.

"Hardly," Iron Man righted himself in mid-air, and Styxx snarled as another knife pierced his arm. "Having a little trouble taking us all on?" he mocked as Styxx glared at Loki, who was more than ready to throw another.

"I could destroy you all in a heartbeat if I so desired," Styxx spoke as he looked at Iron Man again.

"Odd, because only minutes ago you said you were planning on killing us all to get what you wanted," Loki spoke up, sounding mockingly confused. "And what is it you so desire?" he asked.

"The death of all Frost Giants," Styxx turned his head to glare at him even more. "Both pure blood and half blood," Loki's smirk dropped and his eyes widened. Now it was Styxx's turn to smirk. "You get it," he laughed, before looking up at the sky as rage clouded Loki's eyes. Thor grabbed his arm before he could do anything stupid. "I'd say we're done here, wouldn't you?" he looked back at the group.

"Not yet," Iron Man raised his hand to blast him, only for Styxx to step off the roof and drop down. They all looked over the edge and found that he was gone. "Just what the hell was that about?" Iron Man questioned, before Hawkeye's radio crackled.

"_Barton, you and the rest of the team need to get back to base __**now**_," Fury's voice sounded normal, but they all instantly knew something was wrong.

"It was a diversion," Black Widow realised as Hawkeye held her up. "They were drawing us away from the Helicarrier."

"Oh hell, Banner went back there," Iron Man shot up into the air and hurtled off towards where the Helicarrier was.

"Asta's distracted us so she can get what she really wants," Loki hissed as desperation welled up inside him, and disappeared, teleporting back to the Helicarrier. As soon as they were all in the jet, Hawkeye was flying back to S.H.I.E.L.D.s base at top speed. They had to get back in time. They just had to.

**Originally Shadow was supposed to be based off Shadow of Final Fantasy 6, but then I changed my mind, decided to make him a bit of an idiot and pretty much just a distraction Asta could throw at the group…**

**Still gotta get my butt into gear and start the final story…**

**Anyways, hope you liked it!**


	12. Onboard the Helicarrier

Chapter 12: On-board the Helicarrier

Ko hummed lightly as she rocked Runa in her arms, for once not appearing to mind that she wasn't in the middle of the battle that was currently taking place. Loki and Thor had gone off when Styxx had been detected, and Ko was staying behind with Rania, who seemed to be taking being on the side-lines worse.

"If you continue to stomp like that, you will wake Runa," Ko warned lightly as Rania paced. "I did not think you were one for battle," Rania stopped at these words, and shot her a scowl.

"What, like you?" Ko gave a small chuckle, looking up as her amber eyes were filled with amusement.

"I never said that I was not one for battle. However, I chose to become a warrior, while you went down the path of a Healer," she pointed out softly. "If they need us, they will call. You do not need to be concerned, especially not for Thor," Rania sighed, brushing strands of hair from her face.

"Yet you are concerned for Loki," she commented. Ko did not speak straight away as she returned her gaze to Runa, who stirred in her sleep.

"He's fighting the man who is obsessed with killing him. Of course I am," her fingers lightly brushed Runa's mop of black hair. "But I know that he can take care of himself. I need to focus on protecting Runa," Ko smiled softly as Runa stirred again, brushing her mother's hand away. "Much like you need only be concerned about keeping yourself safe. After all, who do you think Thor will blame if something happened to you?" Rania couldn't think of what to say in reply, knowing that she was right.

"I never thought you to be wise," Ko looked up at her words, and her look of surprise made Rania laugh. However, she stopped suddenly as a yell rang out. "What was that?" she asked as Ko stood up.

"I don't know," she stated, leaving the room before Rania could stop her. She moved through the corridors quickly, scanning her surroundings as she moved, before she almost walked into Bruce. The look on his face told her that he had heard it too.

"You know anything about that noise?" he asked, but Ko just shook her head. Bruce glanced over her shoulder at an Agent hurrying towards them, and Ko turned to follow his gaze for a moment before looking away. Suddenly Runa woke up, her amber eyes wide in fear before she started wailing. Both Ko and Bruce looked down at her in surprise, before Ko let out a curse and spun around, just in time for the Agent to slam a knife into her chest. "No!" Bruce cried out in surprise as Ko's eyes widened.

"Surprise," Asta smirked as she dropped her illusion. "I learned from my mistake. Impersonate someone you wouldn't look twice at," she hissed as she yanked the knife free. "I purposely missed your heart. Wouldn't want you to miss me doing this," Ko staggered, and was unable to hold onto Runa as Asta lifted her from her arms.

"No!" Ko let out a yell and grabbed Asta's wrist as she turned blue, but nothing seemed to happen. Asta let out a chuckle as Ko's eyes widened.

"A little trick Styxx showed me. It comes in handy to have an ally who fought Frost Giants," Asta kicked her in the stomach, and Ko slammed into a wall. "I'll be taking your daughter now, thank you," Ko put a hand to her chest, struggling to breathe as blood poured from the wound. Runa screamed, knowing that the woman holding her was bad, and she'd done something to her mother. She was turning blue, and attempting to grab Asta's face, but the warrior kept her away easily.

"I'm afraid you can't do that," Bruce pulled off his glasses.

"Oh? And what will you do about it?" Asta looked Bruce up and down, looking slightly amused.

"Not me," Bruce corrected her. "I think the big guy has something to say though," Asta quirked an eyebrow, before Bruce shifted into the Hulk, who roared.

"Oh, you're the monster everyone's so terrified of," Asta didn't look too impressed. Hulk growled, looking down at Runa and back at Asta's face. "You'd smash up buildings with innocent people inside, and attack her father when he's on your side, yet you would protect the child?" she questioned as Runa started to reach out for Hulk.

"Smash!" Hulk didn't answer, instead he ran towards her, making the Helicarrier shake with every footstep. Asta just laughed, and sidestepped. Declan seemed to appear out of nowhere, and slammed into Hulk, taking him by surprise and throwing him back.

"I think I'll leave you boys to play," Asta laughed, turning and walking away. Ko, who was miraculously still conscious, pushed herself to her feet, staggering.

"No…" she whispered, and followed Asta, but it wasn't long before she collapsed from the blood loss.

"Ko! Dammit, what happened?" Rania spotted her, and ran over to her quickly.

"Asta…took Runa…" Ko tried to push herself up again, but she was losing far too much blood. In the distance Rania could hear Hulk and Declan, but focused on the woman on the ground in front of her. Rania cursed the fact that she'd given Thor the last of the Healing Stones, which were a lot more reliable than using magic with the severity of the wound Ko had. And normally there would be at least three Healers working on an injury like that. From the sight of blood trailing down the corridor, Ko had lost a lot of blood. Maybe too much. Her eyes were closed, and her breathing was slowing.

"Dammit…" Rania held out her hands over the wound, which was spilling out blood everywhere. She began to chant under her breath, using her magic to try and stop the bleeding for a start.

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Declan glared at Hulk, who was far stronger than he was. He was only delaying the giant green monster so Asta could escape. She had to focus all her magic on negating the Frost Giant magic that Runa naturally emitted due to her hysterical emotions. So, she had to find other means to get off the flying base. Hulk charged Declan again, and the once scientist sidestepped, before grabbing Hulk's arm to stop him going flying into Miki, whom Asta had insisted on bringing along.

"Dec, please be careful!" she called out as Hulk swung his other arm and Declan went flying through a wall. Everywhere on Declan's body hurt. He wasn't indestructible, he wasn't immortal. He was just better than a normal human. But his rage was stopping him from thinking clearly. All he wanted was to take Hulk down, even though that was impossible.

"Miki get back before he hurts you!" Declan roared as he ran at Hulk again. Miki gasped as Hulk ripped a piece of the stairs they were fighting near and threw it at Declan, who just managed to dodge it. He attempted to tackle Hulk again, but he was ready for it. He caught Declan by the shoulders, smirked, and hurled him back through two walls.

"Declan!" Miki cried, running after him, but Declan's rage had completely taken over now. He slammed his fist into a machine, and ripped it from the wall as Hulk walked towards him. Declan hurled the machine at Hulk, just as it exploded. Hulk skidded back, completely unharmed. However, the walls started to crumble, and Miki let out a scream as a huge pile of metal crashed down on top of her. Declan froze, finally snapping out of his temper.

"Miki…Miki no!" he cried, running over to the pile of metal, yanking random bits up. "Miki please, answer me!" Declan pleaded, before he finally spotted her hand. He grasped it, but he felt no pulse from her wrist. "No…_no_!" he roared angrily, turning to Hulk. "This is your fault!" he ran at Hulk, who defended himself instantly, swinging his hand and knocking Declan through several more walls. The wind picked up as they ended up on the outside of the Helicarrier.

"Not Hulk's fault," Declan paused at Hulk's words, but tears blinded him and he launched at Hulk, who roared back and punched Declan back. The man stumbled, losing his balance, letting out a cry as he tumbled from the Helicarrier.

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"Koba!" Rania looked up as Loki appeared by them, kneeling beside Ko, who was turning steadily paler despite Rania's attempts to stop the bleeding.

"Asta stabbed her, from what I made out…" finally the wound finished healing, stopping the seemingly endless fountain of blood.

"And Runa?" Loki breathed, staring down at his unconscious wife, whom he hadn't seen in this bad condition ever. It was terrifying. And he understood how Ko had felt when she had found him after Kiarr had used him as a punching bag. Rania didn't respond, and Loki instantly knew the answer. Asta had what she wanted. And if Ko died, that would be another thing. Loki held out his hands, casting out his own magic to help. Rania didn't even blink as he did so, focusing completely on repairing the deep damage done.

"What happened here?" Fury demanded as he arrived. He'd received word that Bruce had shifted into Hulk, and torn up a good bit of the Helicarrier. He'd contacted the others as soon as he'd heard this, knowing that no matter what happened, they needed the rest of the team together. Neither Loki nor Rania replied as they worked to save Ko.

"Declan's dead," Bruce returned, wearing only a torn, stretched pair of trousers as he held his head in his hands. "And that scientist he was with," Fury sighed, wondering how things had managed to get so out of hand, so suddenly, again.

"What happened?" Iron Man appeared moments before the rest of the group, and Rania straightened up, looking tired as blood dripped from her hands.

"The wound is healed, but she's lost a lot of blood," she stated, watching Ko, who lay motionless on the ground. Her breathing had finally evened out, but she was still pale, and was lying in a pool of her blood. Loki lowered his hands, staring at her as he felt helpless to save her. For the first time, he didn't know what to do. He couldn't lose her. He barely even reacted as Thor put a hand on his shoulder.

"Loki…" Ko suddenly stirred, and opened her eyes.

"She's awake? Freaky…" Tony mumbled, and Rania shot him a dirty look.

"Asta…she…" Ko winced as pain stabbed through her chest, despite the wound being completely healed.

"Koba, don't talk," Loki attempted to hush her, but Ko ignored his words.

"She took Runa…gotta…get her back," she made to try and sit up, but she fell out of consciousness as soon as she moved.

"We'll take her to the medic bay," Fury told them. "They'll monitor her there," Loki got to his feet as Thor moved to lift Ko, and lifted his head. The rage was unmistakable in his eyes, and the ferocity made even Thor a little nervous.

"She will be ok, brother," Thor told him before walking off, and Loki watched him before looking down at the blood pool around his feet. He knew Thor was only trying to comfort him. Her wound may have been healed, but Ko's life was still in the balance. And so was Runa's.

And Asta would pay dearly for it.

**Why do I seem to like stabbing my characters…oh well!**

**I finally remembered to update, completely forgot the last couple of days because we just got a new kitten and between his love of attacking my hands and eating wires I've been pretty busy keeping an eye on him haha!**

**Finally started the final story to this anyways! Yay!**

**Hope you enjoyed!**


	13. The Push

Chapter 13: The Push

Neither Amy nor Steve had any idea what was going on when they received the call to return to the Helicarrier. When they arrived, they found that part of it had been badly damaged again, and everyone was quiet.

"What happened?" Steve questioned as he walked over to where Tony and Fury were speaking quietly.

"Asta attacked," Fury explained shortly. "Declan and Doctor Dunwin were killed in the resulting fight between Declan and the Hulk," Steve glanced over to Bruce, who was sitting at the table with Amy, looking a little worn out and a little upset. She was offering a soft smile in comfort, unable to do much else.

"And the Asgardians?" Steve noticed that none of them were around.

"Medic bay," Tony sighed. "Kobalos was hurt. Dunno if she's going to make it," Steve stared at him in shock. He had almost come to believe the Asgardians were invulnerable. They'd taken beatings over the last few days that would have probably killed a mortal, and probably would have put Steve out of action for a while. The thought that one could be taken out within a few hours of them all being apart freaked him out a little, if he was honest.

There were also mixed feelings in there. She had been his enemy last year and he was still wary of her. He'd never trust her after what happened, but at the same time she was a temporary ally. Asta was still a threat, and so was Styxx. They needed all the help they could get.

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"Any luck?" Rania glanced over at Loki, who was sitting by Ko's side with his eyes closed. He let out a frustrated sigh, but didn't speak, leaving that as his answer to the Healer. He was attempting to track down Asta or Styxx using his magic, but couldn't find anything so far. Thor was sitting nearby, his hammer on the ground beside him, and Rania occasionally got up to check on Ko's state.

The silence that fell was shattered as Ko's eyes flew open and she sat up quickly, letting out a stream of curses.

"Koba, don't move too much," Loki was up and pushing her back down in an instant.

"I'm fine Loki," Ko growled, fighting against him. This was a lie. She felt weak, drained, and exhausted. But none of that mattered. She had to get Runa back.

"Kobalos if you don't lie back down I will knock you out like you did to me on Asgard," Rania's stern voice reached Ko, and she looked up at the Healer standing beside her. Ko knew she would do it. She knew she'd been wanting to since Ko had knocked her out when she had tried to stop them from disobeying Odin and save Loki. She reluctantly lay back down, glaring at both of them.

"I'm fine," she insisted again, but didn't make an attempt to move while they both watched her.

"Can I have a moment alone to speak with my wife?" Loki's tone was hard, and didn't really give them much room for argument. Rania shot Ko a warning look before leaving with Thor, who had been drifting off in his seat. As soon as they left, he turned back to Ko.

Only for her fist to slam into his cheek. Thankfully, she wasn't at full strength, but the surprise was enough to knock him off his feet.

"Idiot," Ko glared at him as she pushed herself out of the bed. Loki got to his feet in time to catch her as she stumbled. "This is no time for me to lie around," she told him.

"Kobalos, I'm warning you," Loki growled, his face flaming as it stung.

"No Loki, I'm not going to back down. Our daughter is in danger. And it's my fault for letting my guard down," she hissed, and he was surprised to find tears stinging at her amber eyes.

"Koba, we are going to find her. And it is not your fault," Loki breathed, putting a hand to her face. "Asta is a master of disguise. Do not blame yourself," he felt like he was to blame. If they hadn't allowed themselves to fall for the distraction, Asta wouldn't have been able to get into S.H.I.E.L.D. "I'm looking for her, but it will take some time," he told her, and Ko looked up, looking thoughtful.

"I can help," she took his hands, and closed her eyes. As Loki felt the familiar pulse of magic, he realised that she was amplifying his magic. He closed his eyes and started to search, reaching out to try and locate Asta or even Styxx. When even then, he couldn't find anything, Loki felt himself starting to lose the only glimmer of hope he had. Until he had another thought, and cast out his magic again.

Within seconds he had locked onto Runa.

"Found her," he breathed in almost disbelief. He opened his green eyes to look down at Ko, and as soon as he looked at the expression on her face he sighed. "No," Loki instantly told her, and Ko raised an eyebrow.

"Funny, I don't recall asking anything," she released his hands and folded her arms.

"Good, because you're not going," Loki told her. Anger flared in Ko's eyes, and she stepped closer, letting her arms fall to her sides. Loki didn't blink as he watched her, ready to fight her if she really tried something stupid. After a moment, she let out a sigh and lowered her gaze.

"Loki…please…" he barely caught her whisper. "I need to do this," she looked back up, the tears still in her eyes.

"Koba, you were stabbed. You almost died," Loki hissed, grabbing her shoulders. "I could have lost you today," he pointed out.

"I know…" Ko whispered. "And if we don't go after Asta, we could lose Runa," Loki watched her for a second, and released her shoulders.

"No. No. You can't," he started pacing, shaking his head. "You're still recovering. You're not at full strength," he listed, and Ko couldn't help but be a little amused by his behaviour. "No. You're not going. You can't," Loki repeated, and Ko walked over to him.

"I'm already a lot better than I was Loki," she told him, and shook her head. "And I am sorry, but I'm going regardless. Styxx is still out there, and he wants both you and Runa dead. I'm not going to lie here while my family is in danger," Loki for once found himself struggling to make his silver tongue work.

"It sounds like she's already made up her mind," they looked around at Amy as she walked in, with Rania following her quickly.

"Is it ever possible to get a little bit of privacy on Midgard?" Loki questioned, which made Amy smirk.

"God no," she told him, before glancing at Ko. "You look like crap, but if you're just going to follow us to the fight, then we don't have much of a choice, do we?" Amy glanced at Rania, who was trying to protest. The Healer spluttered out another protest, but when she saw the look on Ko's face, she knew she was trying to fight the inevitable.

"You're an idiot," she told Ko, and stormed off. Amy rolled her grey eyes and followed. Ko grinned and glanced to Loki, who still looked reluctant to let her go. She shrugged, and walked over to him.

"You can't protect me all the time Loki. You've known that from the start," Ko took his hands, giving a smile.

"Yes, I am very aware that you seem to enjoy leaping headfirst into something that will eventually get you hurt," he commented dryly, which only served to make Ko grin. "Let's go then, before I change my mind," she nodded, and they left the medic bay to find the others.

1-2-3-4-5

It was only a few minutes later that everyone was staring at screens that showed New York, stunned into silence.

"It seems that Asgardian exile really doesn't stick to his beliefs," Clint commented as he watched Styxx destroying buildings, alongside a mass of Frost Giants.

"Must be some of Kiarr's followers," Ko commented, her arms folded.

"Which means they'll be after you," Loki spoke softly. "You were the one who put your staff through his head," he reminded her, and everyone looked around quickly at Ko, who didn't react.

"I warned him that his actions would have consequences, did I not?" she stated, still not looking up.

"Yeah but…that seems a little severe," Steve commented. Ko let out a dark laugh.

"No. He got off easy," she stated coldly, her amber eyes darting to Loki, who remained quiet. "He's lucky I didn't make him suffer," she turned and walked away from the screens. The uncomfortable silence that fell was broken only moments later by Tony letting out a loud curse.

"Oh…that was Stark Tower…" Amy gulped as she saw the damage done by a large explosion created by Styxx. The Frost Giants were also pelting it with huge icicles, smashing any window that had been left intact.

"Son of a bitch," Tony started walking away at a quick pace. "Let's see how he likes that being done to him," he growled, and Amy let out a giggle.

"Stark Tower really is like his baby," she commented, before glancing at Ko and Loki for a moment and clearing her throat.

"This is getting out of hand," Steve announced as he stepped away from the monitors. "They are hurting innocent people, and I'm not standing for it anymore," he decided.

"I agree," Fury spoke as he walked over to them. Amy's eyes narrowed in a warning at him. "You need to get out there, and protect those people," there was silence, and a purple orb narrowly missed his head.

"I'm in, but I'm not fighting for you or S.H.I.E.L.D.," Amy told him coldly, before turning to Steve. "I'll fight," she told him with a soft smile. "I know what I need to protect," he smiled back, and she ran off to get changed. Steve glanced to the others, and while both Clint and Natasha nodded, Bruce looked away.

"Banner, you know what happened earlier wasn't your fault, right?" Steve told him, and Bruce shrugged. "It wasn't Hulk's either. He saved a lot of people on this ship by driving off Declan," he pointed out gently.

"_Come on Banner, you know the giant green rage monster will help,_" Tony's voice crackled over the radio, and Bruce rolled his eyes.

"_I think the Tin Man has already left_," Amy's voice also echoed around. "_You really going to let your science bro do stupid things again_?" Bruce sighed at Amy's words.

"Alright. I'm in," he nodded, and Steve grinned.

"_Just uh, don't suit up till we get to the party, ok buddy_?" Tony's voice called, making Bruce sigh again, but a grin was already working onto his face.

As they all went off to get ready, Fury couldn't help but grin a little at the sight. Despite all that had happened, they were coming together again, when Earth needed them, just like he'd hoped.

**More excuses yay! So I started back at uni last week, and I'm only in one day but it's a full day of insanity so yeah, that's wrecked me. After five months of being off I'm not used to actually working. Plus I got Guild Wars…so that's taken up a lot of my time!**

**I finally got over my writers block for the final story! Even though I haven't got an actual end planned yet, but let's face it, I come up with the end then change it as time progresses!**

**Also, to Yoshinator who brought up the whole Amy and Rory losing Melody…why must you hurt me in this way?**

**Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what ya think!**


	14. Ice, Fire, and a Bet

Chapter 14: Ice, Fire, and a Bet

As if he were taking out his rage on the buildings around him, Styxx thrust out a hand, using his magic to collapse the structure, causing the building to crumble.

"_You have obtained your revenge. Give me the abomination," Styxx demanded as Asta held out the wailing baby as if it were some form of bomb. She glanced over at him, tempted to hand Runa over just to shut her up. She was completely in her Frost Giant form, and it was taking all of Asta's magic to stop her from being affected by the ice magic._

"_Not yet," she told him loudly to be heard over Runa's cries. "There is still much to be done before our deal is complete," Styxx let out a growl, but made no move to take the child. "After all Styxx, the one who cost you everything still lives. As do the rest of these annoying Avengers," Asta told him lightly. Styxx's eyes narrowed as he felt the temptation to just cut off her head and finish things by himself. But he knew he couldn't do that. Without her help, it was doubtful that he could get to Loki. There were too many for even him to take on alone. That had been proven when he was creating a distraction to lure the Avengers away from the Helicarrier._

"_Then what do you propose we do?" he questioned. "The last time you sent us in to take them on, both that annoying mortal '__**assassin**__', and the mortal with larger muscles than temperance were killed," Styxx pointed out, folding his arms as Asta scowled._

"_Yes well, that was an unexpected hiccup in this – oh for – shut up!" she finally snapped at Runa, whose cries only amplified. Asta put one hand over her eyes, careful not to touch her just in case, and Runa instantly stopped crying as Asta used magic to put her to sleep. "Finally," Asta sighed as she was granted relief from the loud noise._

"_Why not do that in the first place?" Styxx grunted, surveying Runa as she switched into her Asgardian form. Asta ignored his question as she looked up._

"_I have one last trick up my sleeve to help destroy these foolish mortals. You are more than capable of taking on the overgrown oaf of a prince, I imagine," she stated, and Styxx scoffed as this were obvious. Asta rolled her eyes at his arrogance. "He is the only one you need to worry about. Other than Loki, of course. The rest will be busy taking on my new allies, who want some revenge of their own," Asta smirked, glancing around. Figures emerged from the shadows, and as soon as Styxx looked at them, he let out an angry roar and drew his sword._

"_You __**dare **__bring these monsters here?!" he demanded in fury._

"_You expect us to work with one who would butcher our kind?" one of the Frost Giants demanded in his deep voice._

"'_Would' has nothing to do with it, monster. I __**will **__kill you all," Styxx snarled back, and Asta let out a sigh._

"_**Enough**__, all of you," she called. "We have a common goal here. You lost your leader…again…and you want revenge, correct?" Asta looked to the Frost Giants, who nodded, not taking their eyes off Styxx. "You all want Loki dead, so do I. And to succeed, we're going to have to work together, regardless of animosity towards one another," she told them. Styxx let out a low growl, but sheathed his sword._

"_Do not expect an alliance to last. As soon as he is dead, I will be coming after you," Styxx warned them. "And the child," he looked at Asta, who still held Runa. The Frost Giants watched him carefully for a moment, before their arms, which had become clubs of ice, returned to normal._

"_Very well," the Frost Giant who had taken on the role of leader after Kiarr's death spoke. "We will work together, for now_," _he nodded, and Asta smirked._

Styxx couldn't believe he had agreed to work alongside his enemies. Those he had vowed all those years ago to eradicate from existence. They were monsters, and they needed to be destroyed. And Asta. He was taking orders from a woman now? What the hell had happened to him?

"Where are they?" Styxx growled as he looked around. The sooner the Avengers got there, the sooner he could kill them and finish what he started so long ago.

A blue light suddenly shot down, hitting one of the Frost Giants and shattering it. They all looked up as Iron Man flew down and landed in front of them.

"Now which one of you idiots decided it'd be a good idea to attack my Tower?" he demanded, looking around at the group.

"Fear not, mortal," Styxx smirked at him. "You'll be dead before long, so you won't need to worry about your precious tower for long," he told Iron Man, who let out a sigh. He raised his hand quickly, and Styxx narrowly avoided his attack, which shattered another Frost Giant instead.

"You haven't killed me yet. You're just full of empty threats. And it's kinda depressing," Iron Man told him, and as Styxx shot at him, Thor landed heavily in front of him and hurled his hammer at Styxx. It collided with his chest, throwing Styxx through a building.

"Uh, wasn't the whole point of us fighting to _not _break more buildings?" Cosmic questioned as she flew overhead.

"Like you can talk," Captain America stated as he landed beside Iron Man. Cosmic glared at him from the building where Hawkeye was standing now, an arrow nocked and aimed at the Frost Giants.

"He has a point," Hawkeye grinned, also earning a glare.

"You can't talk either," Black Widow stated as she walked over to the rest of the group, her guns in hand.

"Are the snarky comments really necessary?" Loki questioned as he appeared beside them, looking a little bored.

"I believe this is the mortal way of communicating friendship, or something along those lines," Rania shrugged, holding the knife that Cosmic had given her for her first proper battle.

The building Styxx had been thrown through exploded as he let out a loud roar, leaping out of it and hurtling towards the group. He slammed into Thor, who was pushed back by the impact. The Frost Giants finally attacked, swarming around the rest of the group. Another roar from above made them look up, just in time for Hulk to smash into several of them.

"Beautiful entrance, as always," Iron Man commented as he shot into the air, avoiding icicles being hurtled at him and shattering others with his attacks. Hulk let out another roar as if to thank him, swinging a hand which slammed into two Frost Giants and threw them into buildings.

"You would surround yourself with those you swore to destroy?" Loki taunted as he tossed a knife at Styxx. The Asgardian spun around, ignoring the knife as it found another chink in his armour and sank into his stomach.

"Not willingly, stupid boy," Styxx snarled, swinging a hand up. Fire shot from his hand and slammed into Loki, throwing him back before Thor slammed his hammer into Styxx, breaking his focus so the fire stopped.

"Brother, are you alright?" he called to Loki, who pushed himself up. His armour was scorched, and he had a couple of burns across his face.

"Fine," Loki replied stiffly, shaking off the pain as he walked back over. "It was my own fault for letting my guard down," he spoke as Styxx recovered from the blow and retaliated.

"Heeeey," Cosmic called to Hawkeye as she landed beside him, smiling innocently. Hawkeye fired another arrow and glanced around at her, finding himself smirking back.

"Another bet, huh?" he questioned as Cosmic blew up an icicle flying towards them.

"Is there any other way to make this more interesting?" she grinned, and Hawkeye shrugged, firing another arrow that slammed into a Frost Giant's head. "Whoever takes out their leader, wins. And if I win…hmmm…" Cosmic became thoughtful, but not before shattering another icicle that was aimed for Black Widow.

"Not so easy when it's not regarding my love life, huh?" Hawkeye chuckled as he took down another Frost Giant.

"Alright, if I win, you take full responsibility for any explosions caused for the next month. Even if it is completely my fault," she decided. She needed a break from Fury's lectures.

"Deal. And if I win, you take on my assignments for a month," Hawkeye decided.

"What? But that's…urgh," Cosmic grumbled as Hawkeye smirked. "Fine," she relented, and shot down towards the Frost Giants as Hawkeye scanned for their target. Cosmic flew around, avoiding icicles and slammed an orb into one, knocking it back into another, leaving them both as targets for Captain America's shield. Cosmic dropped down, narrowly avoiding Iron Man, and as she went to blast another Frost Giant, she spotted a figure up on one of the undestroyed buildings.

"Watch it Sparkles!" Iron Man called as he shot past her again. Cosmic rolled her eyes, before flying off, around a building before turning, flying towards Asta, who was watching from above as a Frost Giant slammed it's club of an arm into Captain America, throwing him into Black Widow. She was so engrossed in the fight below, that she didn't sense Cosmic coming until it was too late. She flew past, and lifted Runa from her arms.

"Honestly, you risked everything for her, and yet you lose her so easily," Cosmic taunted as Asta let out a yell. Cosmic hovered in mid-air as Asta drew her sword.

"Oh little girl, you better return the child to me before I do to you what I did to her mother," she warned, and Cosmic just smirked.

"What you did to me, huh?" Asta's eyes widened and she spun around just in time to block Ko's attack. "I think you're the one who has to worry about what I'm going to do to you in repayment to that," Ko smirked, her amber eyes gleaming as Asta was pushed back. "Should have made that a fatal blow Asta," she told her shortly. Asta was staring at her in shock, unable to believe Ko's luck.

"Ridiculous," Asta shook her head.

"Not quite," Ko smirked. "While I do owe my life to Rania and Loki, I also owe it to the fact that you were arrogant and didn't make that a fatal blow, and let Declan run wild and take on the Hulk. Chaos," she winked, and Asta let out a snarl, and threw back Ko's staff to start attacking.

"Trust me, I won't make the same mistake again," she promised.

"That you won't. Because you're not going to get the chance," Ko replied, her expression turning serious. Her amber eyes gleamed with barely controlled rage that Asta recognised from the dark realm. She was going to take this seriously. Fight with her whole strength. There was a risk that either one of them would die. Before Asta could even think about escaping, Ko shot forwards, and clamped a hand around her wrist. Magic pulsed through her, and Asta staggered back as she was released.

"What did you do?" she demanded with a growl. Ko smirked, despite the shaky feeling inside. She'd used the last of her magic.

"I sealed your teleportation powers," Asta's dark eyes widened at Ko's words. "Can't have you running off like you did before," Ko raised her staff and fell into a fighting position as Asta came to terms with this. Ko was making it their final battle.

And neither planned to lose.

**Yay another update! Hope you guys liked it!**

**Let me know what ya think!**


	15. Their Final Battle

Chapter 15: Their Final Battle

Asta watched Ko as the warrior stood tall in front of her. She could tell she was still injured, but Ko masked to what extent.

"Fine. If you really want this to be your deathbed, so be it," Asta finally smirked as she hid her fear. Ko watched her as a flicker of amusement appeared in her eyes.

"It won't be my deathbed," Ko told her, and Asta let out a low chuckle before running at her, swinging her sword and starting their fight.

Nearby, Cosmic flew about, holding Runa while avoiding ice thrown at her. She tossed an orb down at the leader of the Frost Giants, but it wasn't powerful enough to do real damage. It fell back and was caught by Hawkeye's arrow, straight through the head. The Frost Giants around their leader let out surprised roars, taken by surprise that their leader had already fallen. The sudden lack of focus allowed Iron Man and Captain America to take several more out, before they focused on the matter at hand.

"I believe that's my win," Hawkeye spoke as Cosmic flew past him. "Which means you take on my assignments for a month," he pointed out, unable to hide his grin. He was going to enjoy his break after this.

"Completely unfair. I can't focus long enough while avoiding icicles and holding a baby," she grumbled, glancing down as Runa continued to sleep on. Hawkeye just laughed and looked back down. "Definitely has her mother's love of sleep," Cosmic muttered, shaking her head. She remember her time living with Ko well.

"Watch out!" Hawkeye suddenly called, leaping from the building over to another as a barrage of icicles were fired at them. Cosmic shot higher into the air, thankful that she was faster than the ice. Below, Captain America, Rania and Black Widow were taking cover behind rubble as Black Widow reloaded her guns. Ice was spreading across the buildings and the ground, giving the Frost Giants an advantage.

"This'd probably be easier if it didn't take half a round to take one of these down," Black Widow murmured to herself, and Captain America gave a small grin.

"I would have thought you'd enjoy the challenge ma'am," he teased, leaping over the rubble and tossing his shield. It smashed into the nearest Frost Giant, and Rania leapt over too, slamming her knife into the chest of another. It was exhausting. The Frost Giants were much larger in number, and it took a strong hit to pierce their icy skin. Rania had a large burn on her leg from one Frost Giant that hadn't been quite dead, and both Captain America and Black Widow had burns of their own. Rania now knew how painful Joten magic was. It hadn't been anywhere near as painful when Runa had burned her. Of course, the surface area that she could burn was much less than a fully grown Frost Giant as well, which did not help. Nearby, Iron Man flew around blasting any he could, and Hulk was making light work of them, when he wasn't breaking out of the ice that they kept attempting to encase him in.

"As I predicted, these monsters are useless," Styxx growled as he allowed himself a moment to survey how the Frost Giants were doing. He returned his attention to his own fight and narrowly escaped another knife to the face. Styxx was covered in cuts and bruises, after taking many hits from both princes. Of course, they hadn't escaped unscathed themselves. On top of the burns he'd already sustained, Loki had cuts on his arms, face and one particularly bad one on his back, and Thor was roughly the same, but with a cut over his eye and a bruise forming over the other.

"You are not doing so well that you can dismiss your allies' work," Thor told him as he held out his hand, and Mjolnir flew back towards him, straight into Styxx, whose image disappeared as soon as the hammer connected with him.

"They are not my allies," Styxx's sword caught him in the face as Thor spun around, but barely did anything as Loki's staff intercepted and he slammed into Styxx. Overhead, Asta leapt from one building to another, and Ko followed, looking completely serious as she spun her staff.

"Well you work alongside them, so what else would you call them?" Loki questioned as Styxx recovered.

"I do not have to answer to either of you fools!" he roared, punching Loki in the face before catching Thor's wrist. "I will do whatever it takes to destroy these monsters!" Styxx announced as he threw Thor into an already damaged building, causing it to crumble and collapse.

"Be careful, you idiot!" Asta snarled as she leapt from it. Ko couldn't restrain her light laugh as she followed, slamming her staff into Asta's arm. The force knocked Asta from the air and slammed her to the ground of another building, cracking it and almost breaking it.

"You should not waste focus shouting at your allies. You cannot afford it," Ko told her as she landed lightly, thrusting her staff down at Asta. The fallen warrior rolled to avoid it and was on her feet in an instant. Everywhere ached, her arm especially now. Ko was smart. She was aiming most of her blows for Asta's arms, to lower the risk of being hit herself. Of course, Ko was hit too. She was bleeding from several deep cuts and she had taken several blows that were already bruising. And she was still not recovered after being stabbed and almost dying, which didn't help anything.

"You cannot act so superior!" Asta snarled, running at her again. However, Ko slammed the end of her staff against the ground they were standing on, causing the building to tremor and crumble beneath their feet. While Asta was stumbling, Ko slammed her staff against her stomach before catching her with a punch to the face. Asta was thrown from the collapsing building, and Ko knocked her from the air so she slammed to the ground, narrowly missing a Frost Giant.

"I think I am allowed a small feel of superiority," Asta got back to her feet, and realised that her sword was missing as Ko landed lightly. Without waiting, she launched at Asta, thrusting her staff forwards. Asta watched and waited for the perfect moment, narrowly avoiding the attack before catching it. She moved in close, pulling Ko in so she could land a kick to her side. Ko was thrown aside, forced to release her weapon. Asta tossed it aside, and followed Ko to continue their fight bare handed.

"You two have worked on my last nerve!" Styxx roared as he once again knocked Thor and Loki back. They were all showing signs that they were worn down, breathing heavily. "I will not allow you to continue to get in my way!" he appeared behind Loki, who saw it coming and easily avoided him.

"So what you are saying is, you've been letting us interfere up until now?" Loki asked mockingly, and Styxx scowled as he caught his arm and tossed him into Thor. He didn't speak as he used magic to create a pillar of fire, but Thor's hammer caught his hand, redirecting the fire. Iron Man shot out of the way in time, but the Frost Giants weren't fast enough. "Seems we're helping, rather than hindering now," Loki commented, and Thor shot him a look as he summoned Mjolnir back to him.

"Enough mockery brother. We need to finish this, now," Thor told Loki as Styxx ran at them again.

"For once I agree with you," Loki spoke quietly, running at Styxx to meet him in a clash of their weapons. He spun as Styxx pulled out of the clash and swung at him again, and Loki stabbed him with one of his few remaining knives. Pain shot through Styxx's upper leg, causing him to swear and yank the knife out as Loki slammed the tip of his staff against Styxx's arm. He winced as Styxx used the same knife to stab it into his arm, and punched him in the stomach.

"I have relished the thought of killing you for years," he hissed, grabbing Loki's arm and punching him in the face. However, he didn't release his arm, and yanked Loki back so he could hit him again. As he pulled him to hit him a third time, he finally noticed something. Loki wasn't attempting to fight back. And Thor wasn't coming in to help his brother. Styxx looked up sharply, and saw Thor spinning his hammer, creating heavy winds and breaking up the ground around him. Using this hesitation to his advantage, Loki slammed his last knife into Styxx's chest, and broke free, just as Thor raised his hammer to the sky. Lightning shot down, connecting with him, before Thor aimed it at Styxx. Styxx let out a roar as the lightning connected with his body, frying him. Eventually his roars stopped, and he collapsed, steaming a little as the smell of burned flesh reached the two.

"Next time, you be the distraction," Loki rubbed his jaw, and Thor gave a small laugh, before joining in on the fight against the Frost Giants.

Ko was forced down onto one knee after a blow to the back of her leg, and as she looked up, she saw Asta's foot aiming for her head. She caught the warrior's ankle, and stood up as she swung Asta into a building. The blow wasn't strong enough to break the wall, but Asta had taken enough hits for it to hurt a lot regardless.

"Your last ally has fallen," Ko breathed heavily, one eye closed as blood poured from a wound across her forehead. They had both seen the defeat of Styxx. It was hard to miss. Asta pushed herself to her feet, aching all over. Even as a warrior, she'd never been so injured before. Everywhere hurt, and if it wasn't bleeding, it was bruised. She was sure at least two of her ribs were broken; as was her left wrist.

"I don't need allies to kill you," she replied, tackling Ko. However, before she could even get one punch it, Ko's boots planted in her stomach, and Asta was thrown back into the wall.

"Even with allies, you couldn't kill me," Ko told her as she got back to her feet. Her chest was in agony, and she too was badly beaten. However, with her connection with chaos, she was able to ignore most of it, and fight on with more strength than she should have had. She ran at Asta again, and punched her across the face as she got back up. "You will pay for everything you have done," she promised. "Hurting Loki, taking Runa, and trying to kill me," Ko kicked her in the stomach and Asta rolled along the ground.

"It was your own fault," Asta spat out blood and got to her feet, blocking Ko's next strike. "Loki promised us the Tesseract and failed. He was warned that he would be killed for his failure," Asta told her. "You got in the way, and pissed me off," Asta spat out more blood and pushed against Ko. "And your daughter was merely another tool to use to gain ultimate power," Ko let out a light laugh, her eyes shadowed.

"Oh, you're going to regret all of what you just said," she promised, and grabbed Asta's arm with her free hand. Asta's eyes widened as she gripped so hard the bone started to crack, despite her arm being covered in armour. Ko then slammed her into the rubble they fought amongst, and as Asta finally recovered enough to fight back, Ko released her and leapt back. Asta was delirious by this point from the pain and blood loss. She lunged at Ko, who dodged her and kicked her in the small of her back, knocking her to the ground.

"No…I can't lose…" Asta whispered, getting back to her feet. As soon as she had, however, a sword plunged through her chest. Asta's dark eyes struggled to focus on the blade sticking through her, but after a moment she realised that it was her own sword.

"Yes, you can," Ko hissed, and yanked up, cutting through her chest and shoulder. Asta collapsed, half of her torso hanging off as she struggled to breathe. "Now this is how you kill someone," Ko whispered, stabbing the sword through the rest of Asta's chest, embedding it into the ground. After another moment of attempting to breathe and choking on blood instead, Asta's breathing stopped, and her eyes, still wide, turned glassy. "Finally…finally she's gone," Ko sighed, before her amber eyes rolled into her head and she collapsed herself as darkness swallowed her up.

**Wow I made Asta's death pretty freaking brutal…oh well! She had it coming.**

**Anyway guys hope you liked it! Let me know what you think! I should update in the next few days, then I have to start on my cosplays for Eirtakon so yeah…and possibly start my dissertation…anyways! Let me know!**


	16. Going Home

Chapter 16: Going Home

When Ko finally regained consciousness, she expected to be greeted with mass amounts of pain. She wasn't stupid. She knew that she had taken some serious hits in her fight with Asta. She was almost sure that her injuries were some of the worst that she had ever suffered. In fact she was surprised to have woken at all. And she was a reckless person; she had taken a lot of blows in her life as a warrior.

What she didn't expect, was to feel almost normal. She was still sore, but it was even less than when the chaos had been overwhelming. Eventually she dared to open her eyes, and found that she was back in the medic bay on the Helicarrier.

"Is this what it's always going to be like?" Loki's soft question earned Ko's attention, and she looked around him as he sat beside her, holding Runa as she played with his tunic. "One of us injured while the other watches over?" he asked lightly, and Ko grinned at him.

"We are both as bad as each other for getting hurt," she told him, sitting up. Her body protested with mild pain, but Ko ignored it as she reached out and took Loki's free hand. He was bruised as well, with one specific spot on his face seeming to have taken the worst after the beating he had taken from Styxx. "How is she?" she looked down at Runa. Loki stood up and placed her into Ko's arms, and Runa's amber eyes widened for a moment before she smiled and gurgled happily.

"She's fine. Asta used magic to put her to sleep, but there's nothing wrong with her," Loki told her as Ko smiled down, relieved beyond belief to have her daughter back. "I feared you might be dead, when I saw you out there," Loki admitted, and Ko looked up at him. "You got carried away Koba. Far too carried away," he shook his head, and she sighed.

"I know…I'm sorry," she looked down at Runa and gave a small smile as their daughter blinked in confusion, not understanding why her father was scolding her mother.

"Just try and behave, ok?" Loki sighed, a little exasperated, but also relieved that both Ko and Runa were safe. He pushed her chin up and leaned in, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"I'll try," Ko whispered back in amusement as he pulled away. "How did the rest of the fight go?" she asked as Loki sat back down.

"The Frost Giants fled as soon as they realised that both Asta and Styxx had perished," Loki explained with mild distain.

"So I imagine that since the threat is over, it's time to return to Asgard?" Ko asked, and Loki gave a light nod. "Well then, I suppose we best get ready," she clambered out of bed, stiff but barely feeling any pain. Loki's grin returned, and he kissed her forehead.

"Yes, we should," he agreed. Careful not to squash Runa between them, Ko reached up and pulled him into a kiss, which he returned, wrapping his arms around her, also being careful not to crush their daughter. "I love you," he whispered against her lips, not opening his eyes.

"I love you too," Ko smiled, pressing another kiss to his lips before pulling away. Loki grinned down at her, before moving off to get ready.

1-2-3-4-5

"You guys ready to go then?" Amy asked as the Avengers all stood together. Thor and Rania nodded, smiling to each other, happy that they were finally returning to Asgard. Both of them liked Midgard, but they needed some peace for a while.

"I'll go see if Ko's awake," Rania told them, walking off as Thor nodded.

"I'm so looking forward to a decent night sleep," Amy stretched, sitting on the table.

"Really? I was hoping we could continue our date that was so rudely interrupted," Steve smiled as he walked over to her.

"Oh yeah…" Amy remembered when Asta had first appeared what felt like weeks ago, but was in reality only days ago. "Just as long as we don't get attacked by another psychopath wanting to rule the world," she grinned, pulling him down into a kiss.

"Get a room!" Tony's shout made Amy groan. She pulled away and tossed an energy ball at him, which only made both Tony and Bruce laugh more.

"Just ignore them," Steve chuckled, pulling her into another kiss.

"You two really are children sometimes," Natasha rolled her eyes as she walked past.

"Where's the fun in not being childish?" Tony questioned as Steve pulled away, sitting beside Amy as Natasha ignored Tony.

"Well I have to agree with Amy. I think a good night sleep is what we all need," Bruce spoke up, still grinning. Amy shot him a playful scowl, and took Steve's hand.

"So I guess we'll see each other in another year or so?" Tony asked, his arms folded as he looked almost serious. Everyone shot him an amused look as he shrugged. "And hey, we never got to go for Shawarma this time!" he exclaimed.

"Oh no, heaven forbid!" Amy exclaimed, putting a hand to her heart in mock horror.

"Not the Shawarma! That was delicious!" Steve joined in, grinning widely as he shook his head.

"Whatever shall we do?" Natasha asked dryly, smirking a little.

"That was such an important point of the last mission!" Clint was smirking himself as Tony rolled his eyes at their sarcasm.

"Come now, I rather enjoyed the Shawarma!" Thor exclaimed, almost indignantly, which caused the others to start laughing at him. "What?" he blinked in confusion.

"Don't worry Point Break," Tony patted his arm, unable to hide his grin. "I enjoyed the Shawarma too," Amy was still laughing as Thor looked very confused.

"We have a problem," Rania appeared back, looking flushed as if she'd been running. Everyone looked around at her, and saw her panicked expression.

"What is it?" Thor questioned, confused by her behaviour. Rania took a breath, as if she were scared to say, before she looked up at him.

"Loki and Ko have disappeared," her words created an uproar, and everyone rushed over to her, demanding an explanation.

"What do you mean, they've disappeared?" everyone looked around as Fury walked over.

"Exactly that. They're gone. Is there some other meaning behind 'they've disappeared' that you mortals use?" Rania's tone was sarcastic as Amy and Natasha ran off to the medic bay as if to check that Rania was telling the truth. "There's no-one in the medic bay. I was there only a half an hour ago, and Ko was still unconscious," Rania told Thor, who was silent, not knowing what to say or react.

"_No sign of them here…_" Natasha's voice crackled over Fury's radio.

"Well…that's just fantastic," Tony sighed.

"Come on…we better search this place…" Steve decided as Fury started barking orders down his radio.

"There is no point. They will not be here," Thor spoke in a low voice. The rest of the team stopped and looked around at him. "They will have left the Helicarrier. Disappeared," Tony let out a light laugh of disbelief.

"Oh, that's just perfect. We stop one psychopath, and we _lose _two more," he slammed his fist against the wall. "Dammit Meat Swing, I _warned _you!" Tony pointed at Thor. "Why the _hell_ wasn't someone watching them?" he demanded.

"We left them alone for only a few minutes," Rania defended, but she knew he was right. It was part of the agreement in the first place. They weren't supposed to let them out of their sight. And now they had disappeared.

"So now what?" Amy questioned as she returned. "We go looking around the world for them? Or wait until they start destroying things _again_?" she asked in exasperation.

"They won't be found until they want to be," Thor stated, his voice still low. The sorrow in his expression was obvious. Rania watched him sadly, knowing that he was taking Loki's disappearance badly. He'd already lost his brother once, and it seemed like they were actually repairing their broken brotherhood.

"Then just what exactly are we supposed to do?" Clint demanded. "In case you forgot, they're criminals. They may have been pardoned on Asgard or whatever, but not here," he growled.

"And what do you expect us to do?" Thor finally looked up, his eyes narrowed. "We do not have the ability to know where they are located. Loki has always been the one to use magic, not me. And even if we did, my brother is smart enough to cloak their location. We will not find them," he told them. Everyone fell into an angry silence, completely at a loss for what to do.

1-2-3-4-5

The goodbye was not as light-hearted as the last had been. Despite Loki and Ko's disappearance, Odin had summoned Thor and Rania back to Asgard, sending the Warriors Three down with the Tesseract to collect them. The group had been confused when the three knew that the two and their daughter had disappeared, before they explained that Heimdall had been watching over everything.

"Fandral stop that!" Rania slapped her friend on the shoulder as he winked at Natasha and Amy. Both Steve and Clint were frowning, and Amy didn't help matters by giggling. "Honestly, we can't take you anywhere," Rania sighed, shaking her head.

"I was merely greeting them!" Fandral spluttered, rubbing his shoulder. "Midgardian women are truly beautiful," he commented, taking another glance at the two, who exchanged amused looks.

"You've only encountered four! How can you judge?" Volstagg laughed, and Fandral looked aghast.

"Every one of those I have encountered has been beautiful! How can I not?" he broke into a grin, and Rania rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"The All-Father just _had _to send you," she muttered, before glancing at Thor. He had protested returning to Asgard until they had located his brother, but Odin was giving him very little choice. And it wasn't exactly like they were even still on Earth. Loki had frequently voiced his dislike of mortals, and Ko hated Earth after being stranded there for a year.

"So uh, you guys heading soon then?" Steve asked awkwardly, putting an arm around Amy as Clint moved closer to Natasha.

"Yes, we must return. The All-Father didn't want us lingering," Hogun spoke up, shooting Volstagg and Fandral annoyed looks.

"Oh cheer up Hogun!" Fandral laughed, clapping his friend on the shoulder. "We're going!" Thor bowed his head respectfully to the rest of the Avengers, who grinned, despite everything. Rania smiled at them, raising a hand before grasping the handle of the container that held the Tesseract.

"It was an honour fighting alongside you again," Thor spoke to the team softly. "Though I am sorry that we must leave under such uncertain circumstances," he apologised.

"Don't worry about it, Meat Swing," Tony waved it off. "Your dad is probably right. They're probably not even on this planet anymore," he shrugged, and the others nodded.

"Yeah, and if they're smart enough they wouldn't hang around here," Clint added. He still wanted some payback for everything they'd done when they first started causing trouble.

"You see? Everything is in order here," Volstagg grinned to Thor, who nodded, managing a small smile.

"Until next time then, my friends," he said to them, and they waved before Thor gripped the container, and turned the handle, activating the Tesseract's power. The blue light swallowed the five Asgardians up, and shot into the air, disappearing into the sky.

"So who's up for some Shawarma?" Tony clapped his hands together, and received several incredulous looks for his suggestion.

"Really Stark? After everything?" Steve raised an eyebrow at the genius, who nodded as if this were obvious.

"Stuff it. I'm hungry," Amy shrugged, grinning as Tony let out a cheer.

"Why not?" Bruce chuckled lightly. "May as well keep it up as some kind of tradition," Amy looked up at Steve, and he sighed before shrugging, agreeing to go too as Clint and Natasha did the same.

"Ok then, woo!" Tony cheered. "Let's go!" he led the way down the street, and the others watched in amusement.

"I wonder how long it would take him to realise if we didn't follow him," Clint mused, which made Amy giggle.

"I dunno, I mean he's pretty hungry," she commented.

"And he really likes Shawarma…" Bruce added, still grinning lightly. Tony spun around after a moment, realising that they weren't right behind him.

"Come on guys! It's time for victory Shawarma!" he insisted.

"We better follow him, or we'll never hear the end of it," Natasha rolled her eyes, but even she couldn't hide her smile as they followed Tony to the same place they'd gotten Shawarma before. Amy took Steve's hand, knowing that despite their attitudes, they were all still worried. Loki and Ko, and their daughter who seemed to be attracting interested parties, were in the wind. And they had no clue if or when they'd reappear, and bring more chaos to Earth. If they ever showed up again.

**Holy crap I finally finished this! Took me long enough!**

**Now just to get back into writing the final story, Daughter of Chaos, which I shall publish within the next few days…hopefully…assuming Guild Wars doesn't get in the way anymore…hehe…**

**Hope you guys liked this story! Thanks for your reviews, you're awesome!**


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